FirstEnergy Solutions has reportedly made it to the headlines for a major closure announcement. As per sources, the firm has declared its plans to shut down the remaining coal-fired power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The declaration blankets the W.H. Sammis plant located in Stratton, Ohio and the Bruce Mansfield plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
Apparently, the company is pulling down the shutters on these plants on account of a market scenario that is rendered inefficient to compensate generators for the fuel-security attributes and the resiliency that the plants offer. However, the company also blames the regional wholesale markets managed by PJM Interconnection for the shutdown.
Donald Moul, Chief Nuclear Officer and President, FES Generation Companies was quoted stating that closure of the fossil-based power plants was a significantly tough decision for the firm, similar to the situation when the company planned to deactivate nuclear power plants (in 2020-2021). The wholesale market system does not accredit the old coal and nuclear power plants though it receives PJM’s least priced power first, Moul added.
According to sources familiar with the development, the company together with FES has urged the Trump government to intervene in the matter. It wants the government to order plants to continue operations regardless of booming coal-based power prices compared to other power generation counterparts.
Moul also indicated that the company might drop its plan if the Trump government takes the decision in their favor, a move that will definitely be challenged in the court.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, which has stood firmly against any ‘shutdown’ of the company’s plants, has apparently requested the Pennsylvania and Ohio state governments to help Straton and Shippingport and provide realistic solutions for the impact that move would have on working families.
As per reports, the plants at Pennsylvania and Ohio represent a total of 4,017 MW of generating capacity. The plant at Ohio will be shut down on June 1, 2022, while the one at Pennsylvania will be closed on June 1, 2021.