Unit 3 of Bruce Mansfield Power Plant faces early closure due to economic woes

FirstEnergy Solutions said that unit 3 of the Bruce Mansfield Power Plant, a 2.49GW coal power plant in Pennsylvania, will be deactivated two years earlier than the previously announced date.

The US energy supplier has notified PJM Interconnection that it would stop operations at the Bruce Mansfield unit 3 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania on 7 November 2019.

By that date, the early closure will lead to a reduction in the number of employees to a level that is required to carry out deactivation work, which is expected to be completed by May 2020.

In its previous communication, FirstEnergy Solutions announced that it would deactivate the 830MW unit of the Bruce Mansfield Power Plant on 1 June 2021.

FirstEnergy stated; “In all cases, the Company will comply with its collective bargaining agreement, including severance as applicable, and have already initiated discussions with Union leadership.”

Bruce Mansfield Power Plant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of Drums600/Wikipedia.org.

The reason cited for the early deactivation of the coal-powered unit is the lack of economic viability in current market conditions.

The first two units at the Bruce Mansfield Power Plant in Shippingport were already deactivated on 5 February 2019. The units had a generating capacity of 830MW each.

While the first unit was commissioned in 1976, the second and third entered into operations in 1977 and 1980, respectively.

Named after a former chairman of Pennsylvania Power, D. Bruce Mansfield, the power plant received coal primarily from Murray Energy.

FirstEnergy stated: “The deactivation will be safely and responsibly conducted in accordance with relevant regulations and guidelines.”

For an orderly financial and operational restructuring, FES, its subsidiaries, and FENOC had voluntarily filed for bankruptcy on 31 March 2018.

Earlier, the Ohio power company FirstEnergy said that it would close the loss-making Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants in 2020 and 2021, in the absence of the financial assistance from the state.

To avert the early shutdown of two nuclear power plants, Ohio passed a bill, under which FirstEnergy Solutions is expected to receive an estimated $150 million a year from 2021-2027.