Mon Power's proposal to buy the Harrison power station is "not a good enough deal for our kids and families," according to West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition Director Steven Smith. 

Smith was one of a small number of people who spoke during a brief public comment period May 29 that kicked off the several-day evidentiary hearing before the Public Service Commission of West Virginia for Mon Power's billion-dollar proposal. 

The utility proposes to meet current and growing shortfalls for meeting the demand of its own and Potomac Edison's ratepayers -- which is about 500,000 ratepayers in the northern and eastern parts of West Virginia -- by buying the 80 percent it does not own of the coal-fired Harrison power station. 

More than 1,100 comments have been filed in opposition to the transaction, commission Chairman Michael Albert said, and more than 500 in support. 

Opponents of the plan say the plan would further deepen the utility's near-total dependence on one fuel, that the plant is overvalued, and that the deal would provide far more capacity than the utility needs, so it would preclude incentives for energy efficiency that would reduce monthly power bills. 

The proposal is opposed by Energy Efficient West Virginia, the Jefferson County NAACP, the Town of Lewisburg,Solar Australia's Module Rail has been developed with Australia's harsh conditions in mind. the Coalition on Legislation for the Elderly, the League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club and others. 

Representatives of several groups attended the first day of the hearing expecting to be allowed to speak,The whole variety of the brightest Module Rail is now gathered under one roof. but ended up in a negotiation with the commission, which had not set time aside in the lengthy hearing for public comment. They agreed finally to limit speakers for each group to one or at most two. 

Smith, whose organization addresses child poverty in the state, said the proposal would affect child poverty in a few ways. 

"Rate increases makes it harder for families to meet responsibilities," he said. 

Rate increases for small businesses, which do most of the hiring and create most of the new jobs in the state, increase the burden on them, he said. 

His organization believes a transaction that included more energy efficiency would "open up more long-term, stable jobs that families need to get back on their feet." 

Ricardo Stith of Martinsburg and Garry Lynne Shearer of Weston attended with a group of AARP members and Mon Power and Potomac Edison ratepayers. 

While acknowledging the importance of coal to the state's economy, Stith decried the estimated $5.60 increase to the average monthly residential bill that would result from the transaction. 

Shearer said the average bill has increased 13 percent,Lighting fixtures for home and office in the shop of modern lamps. from $83 to $94, over the past five years. 

"Any increase — even a slight one — in the price of household utilities can mean the difference in an older West Virginia going without a meal, or a needed medication, in order to cut costs to make ends meet," she said. 

It has to be noted that,The pre-assembled Module clamp can be installed and fitted from above to any desired point on the channel. while opponents express concern about rate increases,Read the full story at indoorlite. no proposal has come forth that would be certain to reduce or maintain rates. 

But the utility offers very limited energy efficiency incentives compared with programs in surrounding states and opponents also note that more aggressive efforts for energy efficiency would, in fact, keep rates down. 

Jim Sconyers spoke on behalf of West Virginia Energy Savers, the primary activity of which has been to donate thousands of compact fluorescent light bulbs to residents in the northern part of the state in order to reduce residents' electricity bills. 

That experience has shown that people in northern West Virginia are ready to participate in home energy conservation and efficiency projects if they are offered, Sconyers said. 

"This is to me emblematic of what could be done on a greater scale in the Mon Power area," he said. 

He noted that, when he travels from his home in Preston County into adjacent Maryland, he finds in the shops reduced-price compact fluorescent light bulbs labeled "Courtesy of FirstEnergy" — that's Mon Power's and Potomac Edison's parent company — but not so in Preston County. 

"What this tells me is, apparently FirstEnergy thinks conservation and efficiency are good for Maryland, but apparently not for West Virginia," he said, "and I think it's high time we change that paradigm."