FirstEnergy Solutions formally confirmed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday that it plans to permanently shut down three nuclear power plants unless it gets government help.
The three-paragraph message simply certifies FirstEnergy’s March 28 announcement that it would end power production at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, by May 31, 2020; the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio, by May 31, 2021; and the two reactors of the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pa., respectively by May 31, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2021.
“We are actively seeking policy solutions at the state and federal level as an alternative to retiring these plants, which we believe still have a crucial role to play in the reliability and resilience of our regional grid,” FES Generation Cos. President Don Moul said in a press release. “As early as mid-2019, we will begin facing decisions on each of these plants as to whether to refuel them or shut them down. Absent legislative or regulatory relief, we cannot continue to operate the plants on their current uneconomic basis.”
FirstEnergy Solutions also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late March. The Akron, Ohio, company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., says its coal-fired and nuclear power plants have not been able to economically compete with cheaper power produced by natural gas operations.
The company has asked Energy Secretary Rick Perry to use his authority under the Federal Power Act to order regional power transmission provider PJM Interconnection to sign contracts that guarantee FirstEnergy’s nuclear and coal plants can fully recover their costs along with a return on their investments. The federal agency has not yet responded to that request. PJM opposes that request because it believes it can obtain enough power from other sources.
