Public Utility Commission Chairman Friday expressed concerns about the impact of the closure of two southwestern Pennsylvania power plants as part of his testimony before the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee.

In his testimony, PUC Chairman Robert F. Powelson said the Commission is concerned about the impacts the deactivation of FirstEnergy’s Hatfield’s Ferry and Mitchell plants will have on Pennsylvania and the potential effect on the overall reliability of the electric grid.

“We have to, in terms of just proper and due diligence, look at reliability, which is our main priority, keeping the lights on and more importantly addressing the potential impact on the local community,” said Powelson said in a video news release.

Chairman Powelson emphasized that the PUC’s interest in this matter is by no means an attempt to exercise any regulatory authority over FirstEnergy with respect to these plant closures.

The PUC strongly supports the restructured electricity market in Pennsylvania and understands it is not our place to make managerial decisions for wholesale electric generation suppliers in our state, he said. However, in a situation like this, where FirstEnergy’s plant closures will potentially affect overall grid reliability, it is the PUC’s responsibility to ask some hard questions.

“I think at the end of the day one of the key concerns is the potential loss of jobs in the Commonwealth,” Powelson said in the video news release. “We’re trying to be a little more proactive as a Commission, getting at some of the issues surrounding the closure announcement, but looking at maybe potential options for those plants to stay open.”

Chairman Powelson urged the company to explore options such as converting the operations to natural gas or selling the facilities to other interested parties who would be willing to make the necessary environmental upgrades.

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9/16/2013