The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday approved Entergy’s request to transfer the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant’s operating license and estimated $700 million decommissioning trust fund to Exelon.
The decision marks the final federal approval required for Entergy to complete its $110 million sale of FitzPatrick to Exelon, which will allow the struggling 41-year-old upstate New York nuclear plant to remain in operation. The deal has already received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Justice, and the New York Public Service Commission, though multiple legal challenges from environmentalists and utilities are pending.
“We are pleased that the NRC has approved the proposed sale of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant to Exelon,” Entergy spokeswoman Tammy Holden said via email Friday. “This completes a major milestone toward closing the transaction, which is on target for this spring.”
Exelon agreed to buy the plant in August 2016, after the New York Public Service Commission approved Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard, an energy subsidy program expected to pay upstate nuclear power providers about $8 billion over the program’s lifetime. Exelon stands to collect on all that money, as it already owns the other two upstate nuclear plants: the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant and Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, which is adjacent to FitzPatrick.
“The NRC staff’s review of the license transfer application concluded that Exelon is financially and technically qualified to conduct the activities under the license, has satisfied the NRC’s decommissioning funding assurance requirements for the facility, and is not owned, controlled, or dominated by a foreign entity,” the NRC said in a statement Friday.
The transfer will take effect March 31, when the NRC amends the license to reflect the FitzPatrick’s new ownership. The FitzPatrick sale is expected to save 600 jobs, as well as maintain about $500 million per year in regional economic activity, and $17.3 million in local property taxes supporting services to local governments and schools. Entergy announced FitzPatrick’s closure in November 2015, citing “the continuing deteriorating economics of the facility.” Since 2014, Entergy has announced the closures of five nuclear power plants, as it exits from the merchant power business.
FitzPatrick Returns to Full Power Following Refueling Outage
FitzPatrick returned to full power Wednesday, following a nearly two-month refueling outage in which crews replaced about one-third of the facility’s reactor fuel. The outage further solidifies Entergy’s plan to deal the plant to Exelon.
“We are looking forward to operating the FitzPatrick plant,” Exelon Generation Senior Vice President of Operations Chris Mudrick said in a statement Wednesday. “The employees and the community have been extraordinarily welcoming over the past few months. It was encouraging to see Exelon’s technicians working side-by-side with FitzPatrick’s plant employees. This outage was important because it meant preserving hundreds of full-time jobs, not only at the plant but in the community.”
As dictated by the sale agreement, Exelon spent about $55 million to purchase replacement fuel for the outage, which began on Jan. 14. According to the announcement, more than 1,600 Entergy employees and 1,000 contract workers assisted during the outage. Refueling outages typically occur every 18 months to two years at nuclear plants.
“I’m proud of this team and the synergistic approach between Entergy and Exelon,” FitzPatrick Site Vice President Brian Sullivan said in a statement. “Exelon not only provided expertise and consultation, but staff, resources and materials. Everyone at the site and in the community is fully committed to the plant’s long-term success.”