Mon Power and Potomac Edison Select Maidsville, West Virginia, Site for New Natural Gas Power Plant
FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison selected a 35-acre Maidsville, West Virginia site for a new 1,200-megawatt natural gas power plant expected to supply roughly half a million homes.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison selected a 35-acre Maidsville, West Virginia site for a new 1,200-megawatt natural gas power plant expected to supply roughly half a million homes. If approved by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, site work could begin as early as 2027 with the plant online in late 2031.
The companies also seek approval for 70 megawatts of new solar across three reclaimed/brownfield sites, adding to 30 megawatts already built since 2024, as part of an Integrated Resource Plan to bolster reliability and affordability.
Positive
- 1,200 MW natural gas capacity selected at Maidsville site
- Expected to power ~500,000 homes, strengthening regional supply
- 70 MW proposed solar plus 30 MW existing utility-scale solar
Negative
- Project subject to Public Service Commission approval within the next year
- Long lead time: site work as early as 2027, online in late 2031
Details
News Market Reaction – FE
On Feb 17, the first trading day after this news, FE closed 1.50% below the previous close.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Feb 17 session.
Key Figures
- Gas plant capacity
- 1,200 megawatts
- New natural gas power plant at Maidsville site
- Plant site size
- 35 acres
- Site next to Fort Martin Power Station
- Homes powered
- roughly half a million homes
- Expected output of new gas plant
- New solar capacity
- 70 megawatts
- Proposed new solar generation projects
- Existing solar
- 30 megawatts
- Solar already constructed since 2024
- Site work start
- 2027
- Earliest expected start of site work if PSC approves
- Plant online target
- late 2031
- Expected in-service timing if approved
- Mon Power customers
- about 395,000
- Customers served in 34 West Virginia counties
Historical Context
-
$95M reliability upgrades in NJ reducing outages for thousands of customers.
-
Advisory on foil balloons and outages, reinforcing reliability and safety focus.
-
$30M Monmouth County upgrades with 10 miles of new wire and new poles.
-
PA Default Service Plan filings outlining auction structure and TOU changes.
-
Report on 30,000+ trees planted in 2025 and 26,000 planned for 2026.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
integrated resource plan regulatory
public service commission regulatory
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Approval of new gas and solar generation proposed in Integrated Resource Plan will help keep power reliable and affordable for customers
Once complete, the plant is expected to generate enough energy to power roughly half a million homes, strengthening the region's energy supply as demand continues to grow.
If approved by the Public Service Commission of
The natural gas plant is a key part of Mon Power and Potomac Edison's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which outlines how the companies will continue delivering reliable, affordable power to customers over the next decade. The plan also calls for continued operation of the Fort Martin and Harrison power plants and adds new solar resources to create a more balanced and resilient energy portfolio.
Jim Myers, FirstEnergy's President of
Building on growing solar portfolio
Mon Power and Potomac Edison are also seeking approval for 70 megawatts of new solar generation, as described in the IRP. These proposed projects would be built on former industrial and reclaimed mine lands, including:
- A 50-megawatt project on a 188-acre former strip mine at a private airfield in Valley Point (
Preston County ) - An 8.4-megawatt project on a 51-acre site surrounding a Mon Power substation in the Wylie Ridge area of
Weirton (Hancock County ) - An 11.5-megawatt project on a 44-acre reclaimed strip mine property in
Davis (Tucker County )
These new sites would complement the companies' existing solar portfolio of 30 megawatts already constructed since 2024 on brownfield and former industrial sites. Beyond offering clean energy, these projects support
Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34
Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in seven counties in
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than six million customers in
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mon-power-and-potomac-edison-select-maidsville-west-virginia-site-for-new-natural-gas-power-plant-302688078.html
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.