# Forest County, Pennsylvania: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Jenks Township No data center or power plant project is on record in Forest County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Forest County is home to Jenks Township and Tionesta Township. Unemployment was 5.3% in August 2026, against 7.1% in 2019. Next door, Clarion County has 1 data center. 20 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Employers here counted 1,895 jobs in 2025, down 4.1% from 2019. -4.1% total jobs since 2019, now 1,895 20 MW of operating power plants, mostly solar 17.37¢ per kWh for FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Forest County Forest County is home to Jenks Township and Tionesta Township. Jenks Township3,662 residents Tionesta Township636 residents Harmony Township438 residents Tionesta399 residents Hickory Township391 residents Green Township356 residents Barnett Township288 residents Kingsley Township251 residents Howe Township193 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Marienville. 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 Forest County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Pennsylvania | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 6,972 | 6,614 | ▼ 5.1% | 65th of 67 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,976 | 1,895 | ▼ 4.1% | 44th of 67 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $45,829 | $58,939 | ▲ 28.6% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 7.1% | 5.3% | ▼ 1.8pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 20 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Its power plants have 20 MW of capacity, 100% of it solar. FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co is the largest utility serving Forest County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 17.37¢/kWh in 2024, above the 16.30¢ median for Pennsylvania utilities. 6,614 people live here, down 5.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Forest County ### Utilities with service territory in Forest 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% | | Central Electric Coop, Inc - (PA) | Cooperative | Bundled | 23,629 | 17.03¢ | 22% | | United Electric Coop, Inc - (PA) | — | — | — | — | — | | Warren Electric Coop Inc | — | — | — | — | — | 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 | |---|---|---| | Solar | 20 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Cobalt Solar, LLC | Cypress Creek Renewables | Solar | 20 MW | 2025 | ## The Forest County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 1,895 | $58,939 | 1.00 | 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 Forest County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Forest County. Pennsylvania has 36 local measures on record statewide. ## Forest County and its neighbors Of the 5 counties that border Forest County, Warren 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Forest County | 6,614 | ▼ 4.1% | 20 MW | — | — | — | | Clarion County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/clarion-county) | 36,680 | ▼ 4.6% | 30 MW | 5 MW | 1 | — | | Elk County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/elk-county) | 29,926 | ▼ 10.4% | 54 MW | 6 MW | — | — | | Jefferson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/jefferson-county) | 43,255 | ▼ 10.7% | — | — | — | — | | Venango County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/venango-county) | 49,346 | ▼ 10.1% | 409 MW | — | — | — | | Warren County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/warren-county) | 37,038 | ▼ 10.1% | 491 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Pennsylvania [All Pennsylvania countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania)[Venango County49,346 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/venango-county)[Jefferson County43,255 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/jefferson-county)[Warren County37,038 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/warren-county)[Clarion County36,680 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/clarion-county)[Elk County29,926 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/elk-county) ## Forest County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Forest County, Pennsylvania? 4 utilities have service territory in Forest County in the EIA-861 2024 report: FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co, Central Electric Coop, Inc - (PA), United Electric Coop, Inc - (PA), Warren Electric Coop Inc. The largest, FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co, charged residential customers 17.37¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Forest County? 1 operating plant with 20 MW of capacity. The largest is Cobalt Solar, LLC (20 MW, solar). ### Are there data centers in Forest County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Forest County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Clarion County. ### Is Forest County adding jobs? Employers counted 1,895 jobs in 2025 against 1,976 in 2019 (-4.1%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Forest County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Forest County. Pennsylvania has 36 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/pennsylvania/forest-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/).