The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers Monday announced a statewide effort aimed to help small businesses in coal impacted regions.

The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Economic Administration have funded three Pennsylvania SBDC projects as part of the POWER Initiative, a multiagency effort to invest federal economic and workforce development resources in communities and regions negatively impacted by changes in the coal economy.Over the years, Pennsylvania's coal industry has gone through a number of positive and negative cycles. After a relatively normal period during most of the first decade of the 21st century, the past seven years have been very hard on the industry.Small businesses have been impacted in a variety of ways from decreased sales due to miners having less disposable income and from lost contracts with large supply chain companies affected by decreases in coal production.Activities related to coal mining in Pennsylvania are at historic lows, therefore planning for the economic future of these regions is critical.Companies in coal impacted communities who are interested in working with their local SBDC for confidential, no-cost business consulting can visit

http://pasbdc.org/centers to find the center that serves their county.