SHAMOKIN DAM -- Sixty-three Sunbury Generation employees have been temporarily laid off while the plant is idled by the mild weather.
Michael Wert, president of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1600 that represents 80 plant employees, said a furlough notice was sent to employees this week.
"It's a challenged plant, environmentally and market-wise," he said of the 63-year-old facility located off the Old Trail in Snyder County.
Neither plant vice president of operations Ed Griegel nor manager Jack Specht returned calls Friday.
Wert said it's the second furlough at the plant since early December and employees haven't been told when they'll be called back to work.
One of the oldest coal-fired plants operating in the nation today and facing potential closure due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's tougher emission regulations, Sunbury Generation aims to remain viable by converting to natural gas by 2015.
An application for an air quality permit is under review by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The agency sent a letter to the plant Jan. 30 asking it to respond within 60 days to deficiencies found during the review, a routine aspect of the process, DEP spokesman Dan Spadoni said.
The conversion to gas generation would help to sustain the plant, but not all 80 union jobs, Wert said.
"It would mean a lot less staff," he said, estimating about 60 jobs would be lost if two natural gas turbines replaced five of the six existing coal-fired generators.
With temporary layoffs recurring more frequently, Wert said, employees may soon begin looking at other options.
"I don't think any of the rank and file have left, but I think people will get antsy," he said. "The saving grace for everyone now is that they still have medical benefits."
Under terms of the union contract, the plant must provide seven days' notice if layoffs and pay employee benefits during the furlough period.
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