Congressman Tim Murphy, Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, issued the following statement today regarding the news that FirstEnergy Corp. will close the Hatfield's Ferry and Mitchell coal-fired power stations --representing 10percent of the company's total generating capacity -- on October 9, 2013. Approximately 380 workers are expected to lose their jobs.
"The front line in the administration's War on Coal is right here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the casualties are the factories and homeowners who will pay higher electric bills, as well as the hundreds of utility workers, boilermakers, and miners who will be out of work. With the shutdown of the Mitchell plant and Hatfield's Ferry, which just four short years ago underwent $1 billion in upgrades, the President is making good on his promise to 'bankrupt' anyone who operates a coal plant."
Rep. Murphy and the Energy & Commerce Committee have been reviewing the impact on the economy of new anti-coal regulations coming out of the Environmental Protection Agency. Last month, Rep. Murphy took to the House floor to address his colleagues about the potential loss of jobs from the Administration's pending climate change regulations.More information about Rep. Murphy's energy solutions can be found at http://1.usa.gov/11Y48Ov.