The Keystone and Conemaugh Generating Stations each produce approximately 1,700 megawatts of electricity-- enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
[In December 2025, DEP filed a complaint in court seeking to enjoin Key-Con from discharging wastewater to waters of the Commonwealth in violation of the state Clean Streams Law. Read more here.
[Key-Con chose to shut down the Keystone and Conemaugh generating stations in the face of a difficult market for electricity at the time. Since then they reevaluated their position in light of “unprecedented increase in electricity demand, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Read more here.]
Both plants had been scheduled to cease operations on December 31, 2028, but this consent decree would allow the plants to continue operating through 2032 due to upgraded wastewater treatment equipment at both plants.
“This consent decree keeps electricity on the grid and ensures that these power plants reduce their impact on Pennsylvania’s waterways,” said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley. “DEP now has an enforceable schedule for required improvements, as well as enforceable penalties if milestones are missed.”
Federal agencies and grid operators, including PJM Interconnection, have raised concerns about the reliability impacts of premature plant retirements amid increased growth in electricity demand.
At the same time, labor and legislative leaders have urged continued operation of these facilities to protect jobs, local economies, and grid stability.
“On behalf of the hardworking men and women of IBEW Local 459, we appreciate Governor Shapiro’s commonsense leadership on energy policy, as evidenced by this decision to help keep Keystone and Conemaugh producing power for longer,” said Aric Baker, IBEW Local 459 President. “When Governor Shapiro visited us at Keystone and spoke to the men and women who operate and maintain the facility, it was clear that he understood the importance of an all of the above energy strategy, particularly at a time where the demand on our grid and concerns about energy affordability continue to grow. With this action, the Governor helps protect hundreds of family-sustaining union jobs, our local economies, and energy consumers all across Pennsylvania.”
"I was glad to work with Governor Shapiro on this and appreciate his decision. The extension of the Keystone and Conemaugh Generating Stations will guarantee more power and keep great-paying jobs in Pennsylvania. These plants generate the reliable baseload power that Pennsylvania families, manufacturers, schools, hospitals, and emergency services rely on every day. Thanks to President Trump's energy dominance agenda, Pennsylvania will continue to lead the way on generation and power the transformation of our great Commonwealth,” said U.S. Senator Dave McCormick.
“Pennsylvanians are worried about rising energy costs right now and they need reliable, affordable sources of power to ensure our homes and businesses can keep the lights on without breaking the bank,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “I’m an all-of-the-above energy Governor, and by upgrading the environmental controls at the Keystone and Conemaugh Generating Stations to keep them operating for longer, we will protect energy jobs and ensure Pennsylvania generates enough energy to support the regional grid while reducing their impact on our environment.”
Allowing the plants to continue operating under enforceable environmental requirements will help avoid supply shortfalls that can drive up electricity prices for consumers across the region.
The required upgrades will ensure compliance with federal wastewater standards, significantly reducing the potential for pollutants to enter Pennsylvania waterways.
DEP notified the Court in December 2025 of the proposed consent decree and then solicited public comment. Read more here.
After receiving and responding to more than 700 comments, DEP is now asking the Court to make the consent decree final. Under the agreement, the facilities must:
-- Submit complete applications for all necessary permits and authorizations to construct required Bottom Ash System upgrades within 60 days of the Court’s approval of the consent decree;
-- Begin construction within 90 days of receiving required permits and authorizations from DEP;
-- Complete construction within 180 days of commencement; and
-- Begin operating the upgraded systems within 60 days of construction completion.
The agreement also includes financial penalties to ensure accountability. Key-Con will be required to pay daily penalties while operating the facilities until the upgrades are complete, along with additional penalties if milestones are missed.
This approach allows Pennsylvania to meet federal environmental obligations while responding to real-time energy market conditions and stakeholder concerns about reliability, affordability, and economic impact.
Click Here for a copy of the consent decree.
Click Here for the DEP announcement.
Reactions
Alex Bomstein, Executive Director of Clean Air Council said this about the action--
"Governor Shapiro says he is defending Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to clean air and water, but this decision contradicts that.
“Key-Con had years to comply with federal wastewater rules, and now the state is extending the lives of aging coal plants while cutting the lives short of people living nearby.
“Pennsylvania should be accelerating the stable, affordable, renewable energy projects already in the pipeline, not doubling down on coal, more pollution, and more climate chaos to address an electricity crunch driven in part by the data centers Shapiro's administration is promoting."
Ted Kelly, Environmental Defense Fund Lead Counsel for U.S. Clean Energy, issued this statement--
“Governor Shapiro’s decision to allow Pennsylvania’s two dirtiest coal-fired power plants to remain open beyond their planned closings is completely unwarranted. Aging coal plants are scheduled to retire for a reason.
“They're expensive, unreliable and harmful to our health.
“Keeping them on life support will not make electricity more affordable for families and businesses, especially when renewable sources like solar and wind, and battery storage, are a faster and cheaper way to meet the commonwealth’s growing power needs.
“What Pennsylvanians can’t afford is an energy policy stuck in the past,”
Molly Parzen, Executive Director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, issued the following statement--
“It is deeply disappointing that during Earth Week-- a week intended to celebrate our progress toward a cleaner, healthier future-- we are instead seeing a commitment to extend the life of two of Pennsylvania’s largest sources of toxic pollution.
“While we appreciate the protections against water pollution in this agreement to limit the discharge of toxic metals like arsenic and mercury, these are the bare minimum standards for protecting our local watersheds.
“They do not change the fundamental reality: Doubling down on coal is the wrong direction for Pennsylvania’s energy future.
“Coal is not only a primary driver of the climate crisis, but it is also an increasingly expensive way to power our grid.
“Continuing to rely on outdated fossil fuel infrastructure places a financial burden on Pennsylvania’s working families and a health burden on the communities that live in the shadow of these plants.
“If we want to lower energy rates in both the short and long term, the best path forward is to invest in homegrown, renewable energy like solar, wind, and battery storage.
“The transition to clean energy is an opportunity to create thousands of family-sustaining union jobs, stabilize our energy prices and protect the health of our children and families.
“And it’s an opportunity that Pennsylvania is missing out on.
“While other states, like Texas, are lowering their energy prices by moving aggressively to bring new wind and solar energy online, Pennsylvania remains stuck in the past.
“And there is plenty of blame to go around: a grid operator, PJM, that prioritizes dirty energy; the Trump administration that ripped away investments for a clean energy transition; the perpetual gridlock in Harrisburg; and a Governor for whom an “all of the above energy” approach doesn’t seem to include any clean energy.
“We urge Governor Shapiro to prioritize a 21st-century energy policy that accelerates our transition away from dirty fossil fuels rather than finding ways to artificially keep them on life support.”
Patrick McDonnell, president and CEO of PennFuture, issued this statement--
“The Governor's "all of the above strategy" is a weak and empty policy stance that allows him the flexibility to pander to fossil fuels while facilitating a few federally funded clean energy projects.
“This "strategy" leads to more extraction and burning of dirty fossil fuels while ignoring the queue of affordable, shovel-ready renewable energy projects that could provide power to the grid quickly.
“By 2032, this will not be Governor Shapiro’s problem, but the local communities will continue to breathe toxic air for the next eight years.
“Rather than creating a plan for the future of these plants today, the Governor is passing that problem down the road, forcing others to come up with the money and the solutions to deal with additional devastating pollution for overburdened western PA communities.” Read more here.
The Clean Power PA Coalition issued the following statement from its chair, Katie Blume of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania--
“We’re extremely disappointed in Governor Shapiro’s decision to allow the state’s two largest polluting power plants, the Keystone and Conemaugh coal-fired plants, to remain operating past their scheduled closing data of 2028.
“This decision will not make electricity more affordable. Independent analysis shows that electricity from coal-fired power plants costs twice that of wind and solar.
“The cost of forcing aging coal plants to stay open is paid by electricity consumers: the cost of keeping open a major Maryland coal plant is estimated at $1.5 billion.
“That’s being passed on to consumers across the region, including Pennsylvanians.
“The deal to extend the plants’ operations was announced as part of the governor’s “all of the above” energy policy.
“Thus far, that “all of the above” strategy has meant blocking Pennsylvania’s participation in the successful Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a benefit to the coal and gas industries, and the extension of two expensive and dirty coal plants.
“But a true “all of the above” strategy must include “all” sources of energy, including renewable sources like solar and wind, and battery storage, all of which are cheaper and quicker to deploy than fossil fuels, as well as energy efficiency measures to reduce demand.
“As energy prices continue to rise, in large part because of the state’s overreliance on costly gas and coal, Pennsylvanians still await action by the governor and the legislature to increase our energy supply by expanding cheaper clean energy, which currently provides only 3% of the state’s power.
“Until then, “all of the above” will be nothing more than an empty political slogan.”
Resource Link:
-- DEP Invites Comments On Proposed Consent Decree Covering Wastewater Discharges To Continue Operation Of The Keystone And Conemaugh Coal-Fired Power Plants In Indiana And Armstrong Counties [PaEN]
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[Posted: April 22, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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