# Bradford County, Pennsylvania: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Sayre, Athens Township and Athens

Bradford County hosts some of the generating capacity Pennsylvania runs on. Bradford County is home to Sayre, Athens Township, Athens and Towanda. 100 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Vesper Energy Development LLC (solar), the 7th largest pipeline among Pennsylvania's counties. Its power plants have 962 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas. Construction employs 686, up 5.7% since 2019. 27 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly natural gas.

100 MW
of new generation planned here, solar leading

962 MW
of operating power plants, mostly natural gas

-3.0%
total jobs since 2019, now 22,257

## Cities and towns in Bradford County

Bradford County is home to Sayre, Athens Township, Athens and Towanda.

Sayre5,328 residents
Athens Township5,156 residents
Athens3,205 residents
Towanda2,746 residents
Canton Township2,075 residents
Ridgebury Township1,886 residents
Canton1,682 residents
Troy Township1,572 residents
Wysox Township1,545 residents
Smithfield Township1,465 residents
Ulster Township1,296 residents
Sheshequin Township1,284 residents
Litchfield Township1,267 residents
Troy1,227 residents
Wyalusing Township1,226 residents
Orwell Township1,200 residents
Columbia Township1,161 residents
Wells Township1,147 residents
Wilmot Township1,135 residents
Springfield Township1,128 residents
South Creek Township1,106 residents
Monroe Township1,090 residents
South Waverly1,089 residents
Tuscarora Township1,057 residents

And 16 smaller places.

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Greens Landing.

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Bradford County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 59,975 | 59,600 | ▼ 0.6% | 42nd of 67 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 22,938 | 22,257 | ▼ 3.0% | 36th of 67 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $49,572 | $63,235 | ▲ 27.6% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 649 | 686 | ▲ 5.7% | 27th of 62 by growth |
| Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 113 | 132 | ▲ 16.8% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.5% | 3.7% | ▼ 0.8pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 27 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 100 MW | 10% of today's fleet | 7th of 31 by size |

Unemployment was 3.7% in August 2026, against 4.5% in 2019. Employers here counted 22,257 jobs in 2025, down 3.0% from 2019. FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co is the largest utility serving Bradford County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 17.37¢/kWh in 2024, above the 16.30¢ median for Pennsylvania utilities. 59,600 people live here, down 0.6% since 2020.

## Who powers Bradford County

### Utilities with service territory in Bradford County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,802,612 | 17.37¢ | 16% |
| PPL Electric Utilities Corp | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,295,883 | 16.99¢ | 19% |
| Tri-County Rural Elec Coop Inc (PA) | Cooperative | Bundled | 18,206 | 20.08¢ | 27% |
| Claverack Rural Elec Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 16,742 | 18.25¢ | 22% |
| Sullivan County R E C, Inc - (PA) | — | — | — | — | — |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 961 MW | 100% |
| Other technologies | 2 MW | 0% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Liberty | Hamilton Liberty O&M LLC | Natural gas | 870 MW | 2016 |
| Beaver Dam (PA) | Beaver Dam Energy LLC | Natural gas | 22 MW | 2016 |
| Wolf Run Energy | Wolf Run Energy LLC | Natural gas | 22 MW | 2019 |
| Alpaca | Alpaca Energy LLC | Natural gas | 21 MW | 2017 |
| Milan | Milan Energy LLC | Natural gas | 21 MW | 2017 |
| Towanda Facility | REV LNG SSL BC, LLC | Natural gas | 5 MW | 2021 |

### Planned generation 

| Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Solar PA | Solar Photovoltaic | 100 MW | Approvals pending | 2027 | Vesper Energy Development LLC |

## The Bradford County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 22,257 | $63,235 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 686 | $67,746 | 0.58 |
| Electric utilities | 132 | $133,285 | 2.19 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Bradford County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Bradford County. Pennsylvania has 36 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: [Lycoming County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/lycoming-county).

## Bradford County and its neighbors

Of the 7 counties that border Bradford County, Lycoming County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford County | 59,600 | ▼ 3.0% | 962 MW | 100 MW | — | — |
| Chemung County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-york/chemung-county) NY | 80,415 | ▼ 4.6% | 20 MW | — | — | — |
| Lycoming County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/lycoming-county) | 112,587 | ▼ 3.2% | 949 MW | 3 MW | — | 3 |
| Sullivan County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/sullivan-county) | 5,856 | ▼ 0.9% | — | — | — | — |
| Susquehanna County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/susquehanna-county) | 38,237 | ▼ 6.9% | 22 MW | — | — | — |
| Tioga County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-york/tioga-county) NY | 47,453 | ▼ 2.2% | 76 MW | 23 MW | — | — |
| Tioga County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/tioga-county) | 40,502 | ▼ 4.0% | 126 MW | — | — | — |
| Wyoming County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/wyoming-county) | 25,790 | ▼ 0.8% | 283 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Pennsylvania

[All Pennsylvania countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania)[Lycoming County112,587 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/lycoming-county)[Tioga County40,502 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/tioga-county)[Susquehanna County38,237 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/susquehanna-county)[Wyoming County25,790 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/wyoming-county)[Sullivan County5,856 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/sullivan-county)

## Bradford County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Bradford County, Pennsylvania?

5 utilities have service territory in Bradford County in the EIA-861 2024 report: FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co, PPL Electric Utilities Corp, Tri-County Rural Elec Coop Inc (PA), Claverack Rural Elec Coop Inc. The largest, FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co, charged residential customers 17.37¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Bradford County?

7 operating plants with 962 MW of capacity. The largest is Hamilton Liberty (870 MW, natural gas).

### How much new power is planned in Bradford County?

100 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Vesper Energy Development LLC.

### Are there data centers in Bradford County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Bradford County.

### Is Bradford County adding jobs?

Employers counted 22,257 jobs in 2025 against 22,938 in 2019 (-3.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 649 to 686.

### Does Bradford County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Bradford County. Pennsylvania has 36 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/bradford-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).