From The Charleston Gazette

By: Sen. Truman Chafin

NOW, more than ever, we need coal! Tuesday, July 6, electricity demand in the East surged to levels near those in the summer of 2006. With temperatures soaring above 100 degrees in cities from New York to Washington, utilities and grid operators witnessed power output close to the 2006 records. Fortunately, the power grid has been up to the task, thus far.

An engineer at John Amos elaborated that the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland Interconnection, "PJM", is stressed to near breaking. PJM is near max capacity, and it has been said that the grid may hiccup in the following days due to the extreme heat. One result of this misfortune, would be to shed load and cut off big users, which would essentially cause layoffs to keep the grid from crashing.

The increased demand is straining the system as it is; yet, there is another component that is frequently scrutinized but essential for the grid survival, which is coal.

By: Rep. Shelley Moore Capito

Through the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington continues to push an anti-coal agenda. It amounts to an assault on an industry that employs more than 500,000 hardworking Americans and supplies nearly half of America’s electricity.

The EPA’s attempts to control climate change through regulation and stall the approval of mining permits can only lead to coal states like West Virginia bearing the brunt of poorly thought-out policies that translate into greater job loss and higher energy costs.

President Barack Obama is intent on passing legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions. Should Congress fail to act, the EPA will exert its regulatory authority in an unprecedented manner that will have far-reaching effects on nearly every sector of the U.S. economy — from higher prices at the gas pump to skyrocketing utility bills.

Herbert E. Jones, Jr., past president of Amherst Coal Company and former officers of Amherst Industries, Inc. passed away yesterday morning after a long illness.  Herb served as Chairman of the Association for a number of terms and his family and businesses were both great supporters of the coal industry and Association. 

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the time.  We will keep you posted.

Last week Chris Hamilton and Jason Bostic gave separate presentations to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Inspectors General regarding the agency’s regulation of coal mining operations in Appalachia.  Chris and Jason were part of a discussion panel that also included West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Secretary Randy Huffman and Cindy Rank of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy.  Copies of the presentations given by Chris and Jason are available from jbostic@wvcoal.com

West Virginia Coal Association Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton led a delegation of the Mine Safety Committee to meet with members of the U.S. House and Senate and their respective staffs July 8-9 regarding mine safety proposals recently outlined by Congress.  We hope to have a more complete report on the meetings in the next issue of Coal Bits.