A new potential buyer is expressing interest in the Pleasants Power Station

PLEASANTS COUNTY, W.Va. (WTAP) - The Pleasants Power Station is slated to stop producing energy at the end of May. Though its employees will have security in their employment for the next year, the long-term future of the plant is still up in the air.

“There’s active discussions every day of the week going on about the next phase of this plant,” said Pleasants County Commission President Jay Powell.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison have been considering purchasing the plant since last year. A status update from the state Public Service Commission revealed another interested party. “Omnis Technologies is a company that has a revolutionary strategy for the power plant,” Powell said. “And they’ve also entered the picture.”

According to the PSC’s status report, California-based Omnis Technologies has expressed interest in purchasing the plant from its current owner ETEM and taking over operations from Energy Harbor.

If that happens, there will be some changes to how the plant works. According to the status report, under Omnis, the plant would generate energy using hydrogen byproduct from the company’s graphite production.

Jay Powell cautioned that nothing is set in stone with Omnis. “They’re new in the coal-fire power plant business, so they are doing their due diligence to make sure its an appropriate fit for their retrofit of that plant,” he said.

Nonetheless, Powell said he’s cautiously optimistic about the plant’s future. “All players are on the same page working together to see if we can make a deal get completed that would be best for the employees, best for Pleasants County, the state of West Virginia, for the east coast and for America, at that point,” he said.

According to the PSC’s status report, Omnis and ETEM must sign a purchase agreement by June 10 for a deal to go through.

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