State briefs from around PJM's footprint. Included this week are Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Two bipartisan bills signed by President Obama this month may open PJM to new generation from hydropower - a source many thought was fully exploited.

FirstEnergy began sending layoff notices to workers at two PA coal-fired plants even as PJM notified the company it won’t complete upgrades in time for the planned shutdowns.

FirstEnergy Corp. reached a settlement in a controversial bid to shift a coal-fired generator from its unregulated subsidiary to regulated utility Monongahela Power, but a consumer group says the reduced price is still a bad deal for ratepayers.

West Virginia’s natural gas industry wants to intervene in the Public Service Commission’s review of FirstEnergy’s Monongahela Power Co.’s request to purchas...