[joesbucks]

One problem. Many plants have modernized with clean coal technology or even worse for miners, converted to much cleaner and less expensive natural gas.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

The problem with natural gas is that when a tenacious cold spell hits, you need an alternative because so much natural gas is diverted to heating. Coal is our ace in the hole for always available reserve energy and electrical generation capacity.
 

[mozarky2]

Very true, and in some ways natgas is a great alternative. I work in a coal-fires plant that is sited on probably 400 acres, went online in 1978. My company also has a combined cycle plant sited on a city block that produces the same output with no coal whatsoever.
One problem is, how do you store a six month supply of natgas on site if something happens to that pipeline? And, yes, pipelines experience problems. It’s not unusual.