Brian Sanson, International President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), sounded the alarm this week that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers is endangering coal‑mining jobs and driving up power rates for working families across West Virginia.
AI expansion fuels data‑center boom
Industry reports estimate that up to 165,000 jobs have already been lost to AI this year, with thousands more gone in 2025. Large retailers such as Kroger have recently notified more than 3,000 workers that their positions will be eliminated as AI systems take over routine tasks.
Data centers require massive computing power and, consequently, huge amounts of electricity. While many citizens protest the construction of these facilities near homes and farms, state and local officials continue to approve them, often with generous tax incentives.
Coal plants being sidelined
West Virginia’s historically cheap coal‑generated electricity is being displaced by a combination of short‑sighted energy policy and substantial campaign contributions from oil and gas interests. FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison have asked the West Virginia Public Service Commission to shut down reliable baseload coal plants such as Fort Martin and replace them with natural‑gas facilities, claiming a benefit for ratepayers that the UMWA disputes.
Recent filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the regional grid operator PJM show that coal‑generated power is roughly 80% cheaper than the natural‑gas power purchased from other states. Yet over the past decade, the number of coal‑fired plants in West Virginia has been cut in half while residential electricity rates have risen by more than 40%.
Mon Power reported on October 6 that high energy prices reflect PJM’s heavy reliance on economically uncompetitive natural‑gas generation. In the January‑February 2026 period, the use of natural gas cost West Virginia ratepayers over $145 million, a burden that many families cannot afford.
Zoning rules being weakened
Across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, state and local officials are loosening zoning regulations and entering confidential agreements that limit public input. In West Virginia, legislation was passed that removes a county’s authority to weigh in on where data centers are built, effectively silencing community voices while granting millions of dollars in tax breaks to big‑tech firms.
These companies generate hundreds of billions of dollars annually and do not need public subsidies. Yet the cost of keeping their data centers running is being shifted onto Appalachian families in the form of higher electric bills.
Jobs and the future of the region
The push to replace coal with natural gas is not about keeping lights on or lowering costs for working families; it is driven by an AI race that demands ever‑greater power consumption. Some tech CEOs have warned that AI is advancing too quickly and poses a real danger to humanity, while others downplay the risk.
Regardless of the debate, the United Mine Workers of America stresses that the predicted loss of millions of jobs over the next three to five years will strain Social Security, Medicare, and the broader economy. The burden will fall on ordinary workers, not on the billionaire founders of the tech firms.
For 136 years, the UMWA has stood up to powerful interests to protect Appalachian workers, families, and communities. Sanson affirmed that the union will continue to fight against policies that threaten coal jobs and raise energy costs for the region.
Original reporting: Herald-Standard – latest news for Uniontown, Pennsylvania — read the source article.
