Public Citizen on Friday requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reconsider its approval of the $110 million sale of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York from Entergy to Exelon.
The consumer advocacy organization in October asked that the commission reject the sale, claiming the deal would adversely affect New York’s power market. Entergy had planned to close the plant this year, but agreed to sell it to Exelon in August, after the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) approved Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard. That program is projected to pay upstate nuclear power plant operators nearly $8 billion in energy subsidies over its lifetime.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the deal in December. FERC said the consumer advocate’s focus on Cuomo’s zero-emission-credit program meant the challenge fell outside the scope of the agency’s FitzPatrick review. The deal requires also approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the NYPSC (which approved the sale in November), and the Department of Justice.
Public Citizen has repeatedly argued that Entergy and Exelon failed to account for the impact of Cuomo’s program in their case that the deal is consistent with the public interest. Public Citizen believes that the zero-emission-credit program is an essential component to the transaction, which Exelon has stated in the past, and that it unfairly forces New York ratepayers to cover the cost of unprecedented subsidies.
Public Citizen Energy Program Director Tyson Slocum has said the group anticipates FERC will deny its request, which would allow it to pursue review in a federal court. Public Citizen also plans to file a Federal Power Act Section 206 complaint, a separate challenge arguing Cuomo’s legislation violates FERC laws.
