AES, owner of the AES Beaver Valley facility in Monaca, Beaver County, applied for permission from the region’s grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to deactivate the plant June 1, 2017.
Spokesman Rich Bulger told large regional newspaper the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it was “disappointed” at the recent PJM auction that determined generation rates for those power providers that could produce and sell electricity when called upon.
“While we are disappointed …we haven’t made a final decision on the plant yet,” said Bulger. “This notification to PJM gives us flexibility.”
The 125MW AES Beaver Valley complex employs 30 workers.
It was not the company’s first time through the closure process, because it announced plans to idle other facilities in Ohio and Indiana earlier this year.
The potential also comes just months after fellow western Pennsylvania power generator FirstEnergy confirmed it was planning to close the Hatfield’s Ferry and Mitchell coal-fired plants. The Ohio-based utility cited weak demand and low electricity prices for its decision.
The Gazette said that PJM analysts were looking at whether the closure of the Beaver Valley plant could jeopardise the reliability of the region’s grid.
