By Eric Engle
In 2017, Mon Power and Potomac Edison ratepayers in West Virginia were spared higher electricity rates when the sale of the Pleasants Power Station coal-fired power plant from FirstEnergy’s Ohio subsidiary to its West Virginia subsidiary was stopped by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Ohio has an unregulated energy market, while West Virginia has a regulated market, so FirstEnergy knew it could put West Virginia ratepayers on the hook for the Pleasants plant and protect its shareholders from responsibility for the immense costs of continued operation, maintenance and cleanup when the plant shuts down.