Dive Summary:

• The cost of environmental compliance, combined with weak power prices, has crippled FirstEnergy’s grip on two coal plants in Pennsylvania the company will soon shutter.
• The shutdown of the Hatfields Ferry and Mitchell plants will cause FirstEnergy an impairment charge of $488 million in Q2 of 2013. The Akron, Ohio-based utility will also lose 10%, or 2,080 megawatts (MW) of its total capacity, which may impact reliability in the PJM Interconnection.
• FirstEnergy said it would have to doll out $275 million to install special equipment at the two plants to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. In the next 10 years, power generators are expected to shutter more than 37,000 MW of coal-fired units due to weak power prices and new emissions regulation.

From the article:
“FirstEnergy said it expected to invest about $650 million in mercury-related control technology to enhance or modify existing air quality equipment or install new equipment on its remaining facilities.”