By STEVEN ALLEN ADAMS, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As a $12 million tax break requested by Gov. Jim Justice to save the Pleasants Power Station passed the Legislature Tuesday, the plant’s owner and a Justice-owned coal company are in a legal battle.
FirstEnergy Solutions Corp., the operators of Pleasants Power Station, filed an adversarial proceeding against Bluestone Energy Sales Corp. on Dec. 13. An adversarial proceeding is a lawsuit related to an ongoing bankruptcy case. FirstEnergy Solutions, headquartered in Akron, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Ohio on March 31, 2018.
In the complaint, FirstEnergy alleges Bluestone owes $3.1 million to the power company for excess coal stockpiles Bluestone agreed to buy back. Attorneys for FirstEnergy are asking the court to turn over the final payment due by Bluestone and declare Bluestone in breach of contract. …