nuclear-news

Exelon nuclear snubbed by Illinois legislature, embraced by New York’s governor-appointed state regulators

Exelon finds a nuclear ally in New York after Illinois snub , Chicago Tribune, Mark Chediak and Jim Polson, Bloomberg, 4 Aug 16,   In the end, the fate of Exelon Corp.’s money-losing reactors in Illinois and New York may have come down to one governor who desperately wanted to rescue them and another who wasn’t so sure.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo laid down his marker in December when he told the chairman of the state’s utility regulator that losing two upstate nuclear plants would gut a plan to cut global warming pollution and cost jobs. On Monday, the state agreed to a bailout and within hours, Exelon said it would invest $200 million in the two plants.

While Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner also worried about job losses, he said any rescue plan must protect ratepayers and taxpayers and that corporate bailouts raise red flags. In June, Chicago-based Exelon said it would close two Illinois plants after the state legislature balked at a measure to stem their financial losses.

“In New York, it was the governor’s support that did it,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kit Konolige said by phone Wednesday. “In Illinois, from what the governor said in public, it appeared he wasn’t all in.”

Debates over nuclear policy come at a critical time for the industry as U.S. reactors face tough competition from power generators that burn cheap natural gas flooding out of shale formations and rising solar and wind production. As of the end of July, 11 nuclear power plants have closed or are slated to be shut, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.

In New York, Exelon benefited from Cuomo’s support and his determination to help upstate reactors as part of a clean energy plan even as he calls for the retirement of Entergy Corp.’s Indian Point nuclear plant near New York City. The state Public Service Commission vote Monday may also save Entergy’s James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant near Oswego. Exelon said it would consider buying FitzPatrick if subsidies were approved.

Cuomo had the advantage of being able to tap governor-appointed state regulators to weigh the nuclear bailout instead of the legislature, according to Christine Tezak, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners in Washington……..http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-exelon-nuclear-plant-new-york-20160803-story.html

August 5, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA