(a) The Legislature hereby finds that: (1) Coal-fired power plants owned by public electric utilities in West Virginia provide electric utility customers in the state with reliable and affordable energy; (2) West Virginia's access to coal reserves has provided the citizens of the state with access to an energy resource that is affordable and accessible to coal-fired power plants in West Virginia; and (3) Matters generally related to homeland security and national defense are of paramount importance to West Virginia and its residents and coal-fired power plants provide optimal protection and resiliency toward state security and uninterrupted power supplies for household, industrial, and military applications. a (b) It is the purpose of the Legislature to: l (1) Require the West Virginia Public Service Commission to consider all economics associated with its actions regarding the in-state plants operated by a public electric utility, including impacts on local communities and surrounding counties, and all impacts on employment; and (2) Require public electric utilities to provide adequate notice before plant closure or permanently idling. (c) Before any public electric utility announces the retirement of an electricity-generating unit, the proposed sh utdown of an electricity-generating unit, or the proposed sale of and electricity-generating plant to another operator, the public electric utility shall give notice to the West Virginia Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Public Service Commission of West Virginia, and the Legislature's Joint Committee on Government and Finance. (d) Nothing in this section shall restrict or impede the commission's ability to act on future rate cases or other matters coming before the commission that ultimately affect electrical rates.
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