Power provider Entergy balked this week at yet another attempt by New York state to save the 40-year-old James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.
In the latest effort, the New York Public Service Commission announced Tuesday the initiation of a “rescue plan” that would allow for expedited funding for the plant leading up to the rollout of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard. The commission is conducting a cost study to determine what monetary value the bridge funding would represent to Entergy, with results expected Monday.
“As part of the Clean Energy Standard, the Commission has been formulating a new energy credit that would, for the first time, place a monetary value on the zero-emission power produced by FitzPatrick and other qualified plants,” according to a commission press release. “Because these Zero Emissions Credits (ZECs) cannot produce revenues on an immediate basis, the Commission today ordered development and consideration of a faster response to the financial problems currently affecting FitzPatrick and other nuclear facilities.”
While the bridge funding could be available as early as June, a representative for the company said this week the announcement does not change Entergy’s decision to shut down the FitzPatrick plant.
“While we share the NYPSC’s concerns about the loss of nuclear generation, the financial implications of its efforts are too uncertain and this proposal comes too late to save FitzPatrick,” Mike Twomey, vice president of external affairs for Entergy EWC, said in a statement. “At this point, we are moving forward with the safe and orderly shutdown of the Fitzpatrick plant.”
Twomey cited “several meetings” over the past few years between Entergy, the governor’s office, and the public service board concerning New York’s nuclear energy market structure. Those talks led to face-to-face negotiations between the two sides over several months in 2015.
“Those negotiations failed, as New York State was unwilling to agree on a path that was mutually acceptable to both parties,” Twomey wrote.
Entergy in November announced plans to close the plant this year or in early 2017, citing natural gas prices, increased operational costs, and poor market design that fails to recognize or adequately compensate nuclear generators for their benefits. Entergy claims the shutdown will save the company as much as $275 million through 2020. The company has already shut down its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant and intends to close its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts no later than June 2019.
Without directly addressing the announced FitzPatrick closure, Cuomo subsequently unveiled plans for his Clean Energy Standard, with the goal of sourcing 50 percent of New York with clean, renewable energy by 2030. His administration has warned of the potential impact on the state’s power supply and electric prices if upstate atomic energy facilities close.
“The plan would enable expedited financial support to FitzPatrick and other qualified nuclear power plants in Upstate New York,” Public Service Commission Chairwoman Audrey Zibelman said in Tuesday’s announcement. “Until then, we invite Entergy to work with us to make the plans necessary to refuel FitzPatrick and to support the statewide objectives of New York’s new Clean Energy Standard.”
In February New York state Assemblyman Will Barclay (R), whose district includes the facility, introduced two bills meant to incentivize continued operation at the plant. One would provide a temporary tax credit, while the other would expand New York’s renewable energy portfolio to include nuclear power, making it eligible for the same credits available to solar and wind sources.
