Federal commission denies proposed sale of Pleasants Power Station

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new plan for FirstEnergy’s Pleasants Power Station on the Ohio River at Willow Island is needed now that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected a proposal to sell the plant to its subsidiaries, Mon Power and Potomac Edison.

A ruling was issued on Friday.

The state Public Service Commission’s Consumer Advocate Division was one of the opponents of the proposal sale of the coal-fired power plant that was the focus of a multi-day public hearing in front of the PSC last September.

The $195 million deal also required approval from the PSC which has not yet issued a decision.

There are FERC appeal options for FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries.

Throughout the process, company officials maintained the sale was necessary to maintain capacity.

Critics, though, had argued the deal would have cost power customers millions of dollars in the coming years.