Power Struggle: New Pleasants Power leadership fights with former management in bankruptcy filings
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CHARLESTON - The recent bankruptcy filings this week by the management of the former Pleasants Power Plant reveal deep divisions with the plant’s previous leadership, with one side calling the bankruptcy an act of bad faith and the other alleging gross misconduct.
Omnis Pleasants LLC, the operators of the former Pleasants Power Plant south of Belmont, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 26 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company cited a need to restructure its operations, resolve pending litigation and governance disputes, and prepare the plant for a possible sale. Omni Pleasants has $70.8 million in debt.
In an accompanying declaration filed Monday, Omnis Pleasants CEO David Hindman accused prior management, led by Simon Hodson of Omnis Fuel Technologies, of engaging in gross misconduct, including the diversion of millions in state-funded loans and the pursuit of speculative hydrogen and cryptocurrency ventures that starved the facility of capital.
"The Plant suffered from severe financial and operational distress as the result of gross misconduct by prior management," Hindman wrote. "Pleasants is burdened by the defaulted debts of affiliated entities ... through guarantees and liens granted by prior management. Pleasants has thus been placed in default under several major debt obligations for many months ... This has had a crippling effect on the Debtor's ability to move forward as a going concern."
Hodson’s Omnis Fuel Technologies purchased the Pleasants Power Plant from Texas-based ETEM in 2023. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the transfer of the merchant coal-fired power plant which generates electricity exclusively for PJM Interconnection, the wholesale energy transmission company serving West Virginia, 12 other states and Washington, D.C. The plant had been slated to close under former owners Energy Harbor, previously named First Energy Solutions, in 2018 and 2023.
Omnis Fuel Technologies bought the 1,278-megawatt coal-fired power plant to retrofit it to be powered by hydrogen produced through Hodson’s “quantum reformer” technology, burning coal at high temperatures to extract hydrogen for the power plant and graphite to be sold to various manufacturers.
"They promoted a purported hydrogen-production technology known as the ‘Reformer,’ raised hundreds of millions of dollars from lenders, investors, and governmental agencies, and promised potential investors that the Plant would become the centerpiece of a revolutionary energy platform. Those promises never materialized," Hindman wrote.
According to Hindman, the quantum reformer project was used as a platform to raise money from investors by misrepresenting its capabilities. Hindman also said Omnis Fuel Technologies attempted to create a "behind-the-meter" data center on the site of Pleasants Power in the form of a cryptocurrency mining operation, bypassing the PJM transmission system.
Despite warnings, prior management entered into a power purchase agreement in December 2025 with Element H, an affiliate owned by the Hodson family, at prices below the cost of generation, potentially resulting in $1 billion in losses.
Under the name Quantum Pleasants, company officials sought and received a $50 million loan in November 2023 for a 30-month term at 1% interest. The loan matured on June 15. According to the bankruptcy filing, the company’s largest creditor is the state Economic Development Authority at more than $50.8 million.
According to an agreement with the EDA, the state loan was given in order for Quantum Pleasants to secure an $800 million U.S. Department of Energy Title 17 Clean Energy Financing loan. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the company was denied the ability to apply because the quantum reformer technology did not meet the minimum requirements for number of hours for a clean energy demonstration project.
According to Hindman, the EDA had disbursed the full $50 million to Omnis Fuel Technologies by June 2024. As part of the loan agreement, the company was required to provide "dollar-for-dollar project funding and demonstrate qualifying expenditures in advance of requesting matching disbursements." Hindman wrote that instead funds were allegedly moved between Omnis Energy and StarSource, an entity controlled by Hodson, to create the appearance of qualifying expenditures.
Hindman also said that $114 million in invoices were issued by Industrial Accessories Company. While these invoices claimed IAC received $50 million in advance payments from the debtor, investigators found less than $4.2 million in actual payments. Approximately $39.6 million of WVEDA funds were transferred to IAC with no meaningful accounting provided.
AIC, which built the quantum reformer demonstration project, was listed as a creditor with the amount owed "undetermined." According to a March 27 materialman’s lien - a legal document used by suppliers to secure payment for construction materials - Omnis Pleasants owed Industrial Accessories more than $4.4 million out of a $10.7 million contract for work that was completed on Dec. 18.
Since February, the previous management of Omnis Pleasants, including Omnis Fuel Technologies’ Hodson and Randall Smith, had been replaced by Hindman as CEO and Gilbert Nathan as director and independent manager.
"By late 2025, prior management could no longer avoid the consequences of their conduct," Hindman wrote. "Their broader Omnis Parties group of entities, together with the Debtor, was in default under multiple financing arrangements; critical vendor relationships for Pleasants had deteriorated from non-payment; operational reliability had suffered from a lack of funding; and government agencies were investigating alleged misconduct."
Omnis Pleasants operates independently from Omnis Fuel Technologies, though Omnis retains minority ownership (43%) in the former Pleasants Power Plant. In his filing, Hindman said the new management team has worked to fix the company.
"Since February 2026, new management ... has worked tirelessly to right the ship," Hindman wrote. "Those efforts resulted in significant financial and operational improvements to date. But the Debtor's vast array of direct and inherited debt obligations and corresponding defaults still require a restructuring."
Hindman accused Hodson and Omnis Fuel Technologies of allowing coal supplies at Omnis Pleasants to drop to critical levels, reaching less than five hours of run time at one point; creating forced outages and reducing generating capability; and the loss of an ash-disposal landfill due to non-payment, causing coal combustion residuals to accumulate on-site.
Attorneys with Omnis Fuel Technologies filed objections Wednesday, arguing that the Chapter 11 petition was filed in bad faith by the current management to prevent Hodson and Omnis Fuel Technologies officials from regaining corporate control. Omnis Fuel Technologies is asking the federal court to dismiss the bankruptcy case or deny emergency administrative relief.
According to the filings, Omnis Fuel Technologies attempted to pay off the company’s secured debt in full, which they say should have legally terminated the governance of Nathan as independent manager. The filings claim that Omnis Pleasants is not in financial distress, possessing sufficient cash reserves and no imminent creditor threats.
"It is my understanding and belief that, upon Payment in Full of all Obligations, the Forbearance Agreement and underlying loan agreements terminate automatically by their own terms, all liens are released, and the governance restrictions – including the Independent Manager structure – cease,” wrote Charles Gassenheimer, the president of Omnis Fuel Technologies since July 2025, in a separate declaration.
According to Gassenheimer, Omnis Fuel Technologies began seeking a payoff letter from TRAG LLC/RG Energy LLC, both connected to motivational speaker and investor Tony Robbins. According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Robbins has invested $200 million in the former Pleasants Power Plant project.
In his filing, Gassenheimer said that a check for $75.6 million was sent to TRAG/RG Energy on July 16 to pay off the obligations of Omnis Fuel Technologies and restore its management of Omnis Pleasants, with Nathan refusing to approve the transaction. Gassenheimer claims that Nathan is no longer the independent manager and no longer has authority at the plant.
Omnis Fuel Technologies also filed a civil suit against Nathan and TRAG/RG Energy on July 8 in Pleasants County Circuit Court.