MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — Longview Power has promoted its senior vice president to chief executive officer, who will be responsible for overseeing the company and its Maidsville facility.
Steve Nelson took the leadership role on Sept. 1. Former CEO Jeff Keffer, who had been in the position for the last decade, is now chairman of the board.
The announcement comes almost two months after the company exited bankruptcy; Longview Power filed for bankruptcy in April because of declining demand in electricity and cheaper natural gas.
Nelson joined Longview Power in 2014, in which he was responsible for designing and managing the rehabilitation of the power plant. He previously worked for the Sacramento Utility District and Pacific Gas and Electric among other groups.
“This is an exciting and challenging time to take the reins at Longview Power. Because other states have subsidized their preferred sources of electricity generation, such as renewables and nuclear power, market prices have been distorted and not supported coal generation,” Nelson said in a statement.
“Coal provides the resiliency and reliability that renewables and natural gas cannot provide. West Virginia needs to recognize that unless it takes steps to support coal generation, its highly reliable coal generation fleet and the many coal mining jobs that produce that coal may soon disappear.”
Nelson also touted the plant’s future, noting “state of the art technology” in using coal and proposed use of natural gas and solar energy.
“These facilities will utilize abundant local natural resources to produce low cost energy for the State for years to come,” he said.
Randy Gillespie received a promotion, moving from vice president of energy marketing to chief commercial officer. Eric Cada will serve as chief financial officer.