FirstEnergy to close 3 aging power plants in W.Va.   CHARLESTON,
W.Va. (AP) -- Three aging coal-fired power plants in West
Virginia owned by FirstEnergy Corp. will be shut down later this
year.  FirstEnergy announced Wednesday that subsidiary
Monongahela Power will retire the Albright, Willow Island and
Rivesville power stations by Sept. 1. The plants employ a total
105 workers.  Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy attributed the
shutdowns to new federal environmental regulations.  The
regulations are designed to reduce emissions of mercury and
other toxic pollutants from coal- and oil-fired plants.
FirstEnergy says the three plants' total generating capacity is
about 3 percent of the electricity produced by the company. Over
the past three years, they generated less than 1 percent of the
company's electricity and served mostly as peaking facilities.
Six coal-fired power plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland
also will be retired.