Company: Proposed Energy Plan Doesn't Need Public Hearing

An electric utility company that serves more than 500,000 customers throughout northern West Virginia says its proposed energy plan doesn’t need a public hearing.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports First Energy, the parent company of MonPower and Potomac Edison, asked the Public Service Commission to reject calls for a public hearing on its 15-year resource plan.

The proposed plan suggested the West Virginia subsidiaries would seek to buy another coal-fired power plant in the near future.

Last week, the Sierra Club, a national environmental group that has challenged electric utilities throughout the country, called for a public hearing, stemming from concerns raised about the company’s plan, including the projected cost of purchasing another coal-fired power station.

The commission has not ruled whether they’ll schedule a public hearing on the case.