Miners, community members and others connected with the state's coal mining industry will gather at Tamarack in Beckley on Thursday, Oct. 2, for the 2014 Miners' Celebration, a gala reception and dinner to celebrate the past, present and future of West Virginia's coal mining enterprise.  According to organizers, the purpose of the annual event is to recognize those who play a role in the success of the state's mining enterprise.

Alpha Natural Resources is sponsoring the “Scramble for Scouting Golf Classic” on September 22, 2014 at Berry Hills Country Club to raise funds for the Boy Scouts of America Buckskin Council’s mentoring and outdoor education programs.  MORE THAN EVER, AMERICAN FAMILIES NEED SCOUTING’S POSITIVE INFLUENCE.  There are a number of raffle/auction items you can win at this event:  Hole-in-One Contest for a BMW X3 28i; foursomes at about every golf course in the area; airline tickets within the Continental U.S.; golf accessories, just to name a few.   There are two flights: 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., shotgun starts.  Lunch will be provided for both flights at noon.  A registration form is available from sdavison@wvcoal.com.

The public outreach effort of the Friends of Coal continued this past week with two events.  WVCA Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton spoke this week’s breakfast meeting of the Vandalia Rotary Club in Charleston.  Hamilton talked to the crowd about the current state of West Virginia’s coal industry, as well as the impact of the Obama Administration’s GHG standards on the economy of the state. Hamilton then took questions from the crowd.  All-in-all it was an excellent turnout and event.         

WVCA ‘s Executive Staff also attended the 100th Anniversary of the West Virginia Mining Extension Service in Morgantown on Thursday.

“That West Virginia’s flagship university has had a mining training program in place for 100 years clearly shows the importance of the industry to the state and the nation,” WVCA President Bill Raney said. “It has trained tens of thousands of the nation’s best miners over its history – people who have literally helped build this nation and we are proud to have been part in this celebration.”

The Annual Fall Meeting will be held in Morgantown on October 31 – November 1 at the Waterfront Hotel.  November 1^st will be Energy Industry Appreciation Day at the WVU v. TCU football game with special pricing for all those who work in the energy industries. Please mark your calendars.  Contact the Association office for details. 

A repeat of last winter's deep freeze could lead to electricity blackouts in a clutch of states spanning the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic as proposed environmental regulations propel a switch toward natural gas-fired power.

PJM Interconnection, a regional grid operator, proposed new measures aimed at ensuring it doesn't again flirt with losing 22 percent of its electricity capacity as it did during the "polar vortex" in early January. Echoing the concerns of Republicans and some centrist Democrats who have admonished the Obama administration for rules that would restrain the use of coal-fired power, PJM noted the situation could become direr under a "rapid transition" from coal to natural gas.