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Senators press pro-coal agenda and raise energy reliability concerns on Senate floor
Summary
Multiple senators used floor remarks to highlight coal job losses, call for state action to protect coal-fired baseload generation, and criticize regional dispatch decisions; speeches urged an energy-focused legislative agenda this week.
Several senators used the morning floor period to press an energy and coal-focused agenda and warn about recent job losses.
The junior senator from the second said roughly 1,000 metallurgical coal jobs and over 4,000 steam-coal jobs have been lost this year in parts of the state and urged colleagues to "stand up and fight for these jobs" during a coal-heavy agenda. He said the state depends on severance tax collections and warned that losing the jobs could weaken the state's fiscal position and local economies; "I'm gonna fight like hell to reopen them," he said.
The senator from Fayette urged reclaiming state control over energy decisions and criticized recent PJM regional dispatch changes for removing baseload generation, saying the result has been rising and volatile utility rates and measurable job and production losses. The senator from Logan and others emphasized reliability concerns and the human impact of job losses on families in coal communities.
These remarks were floor statements and did not produce votes. Lawmakers previewed an energy committee schedule and urged colleagues to support the session’s energy-related measures.
What to watch: The senators signaled an aggressive energy agenda this week; members referenced PJM dispatch rules, plant utilization targets and potential legislative responses but did not specify bill text on the floor.
