July 13, 2026 - Members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from across the state will be attending the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing on July 15 to oppose a request to build a 1,200-megawatt natural gas plant in Monongalia County, West Virginia. UMWA International President Brian Sanson will give additional testimony on July 16 before the PSC.  

Miners are mobilizing to confront a proposed petition by First Energy subsidiaries, Mon Power and Potomac Edison, that threatens to eliminate thousands of coal jobs across West Virginia while increasing utility bills for all citizens. 

First Energy has announced plans to close the existing coal-fired Fort Martin power plant if this proposed project is approved by the PSC. Then, if this proposal is approved, First Energy has announced plans to pursue a second large gas plant, further increasing the threat to coal miners’ jobs.  The decision could spell the beginning of the end of the coal industry in West Virginia.   

“We will fight to protect the jobs of thousands of coal miners and the communities they live in,” said Sanson. “This proposed gas plant petition is an absolute betrayal of the families who have given their lives powering this nation. First Energy is asking West Virginians to accept the elimination of thousands of jobs and to pay higher electric bills in order to provide record profits to their out-of-state investors and the billionaire owners of the data centers who will benefit from this proposed gas plant.” 

The true financial burden on West Virginia ratepayers remains unclear because the plan submitted doesn’t include critical compliance costs and partially relies on a loan from the Department of Energy (DOE). Experts indicate these missing factors will add billions of dollars to the cost of the plant, which will be passed directly to local families and communities. 

Supporters of this project claim it will bring additional jobs and additional revenue to the state. Those claims are false. Once built, the proposed plant will only provide 30 to 40 permanent jobs, and natural gas produced in the state is already subject to severance taxes and royalty payments. In contrast, replacing coal with gas would eliminate thousands of West Virginians’ jobs and rip away nearly a billion dollars in state and local tax revenue. 

“The natural gas and data center lobbyists and the politicians in their pockets don’t care about the massive job loss and economic devastation that will be caused by replacing coal with gas. They don’t care about miners losing their jobs, health care and black lung benefits.” Sanson said. “But the UMWA cares, and we will fight to protect our jobs, our communities and all the miners who gave their blood, sweat and tears to power the nation”.