Exelon to Close Two Nuclear Plants if Needs Aren’t Met

[thackney]

Exelon to Close Two Nuclear Plants if Needs Aren’t Met
http://www.wsj.com/articles/exelon-to-close-two-nuclear-plants-if-needs-arent-met-1462544157
 May 6, 2016

Exelon Corp. said Friday that it would close two nuclear power plants in Illinois if state officials don’t pass legislation that provides funding and support for nuclear and solar power.

The company said it would close its Clinton, Ill., nuclear power plant and its Quad Cities nuclear power plant, which is based near Cordova, Ill., if Illinois doesn’t pass “adequate legislation” by the end of the month.

Electricity producers in several states are asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in financial support to keep costly nuclear power plants in business. If successful, the legislation is likely to increase customers’ power bills....

According to Exelon, Clinton and Quad Cities have lost more than $800 million over the past six years.

In a release Thursday, Exelon said some nuclear plants are at risk of closing because wholesale energy prices are at a 15-year low....

The utilities claim the nuclear reactors should be given special compensation because they are important to local economies and the electrical grid’s stability, and because they don’t emit greenhouse gases or other pollutants....

The Clinton facility in April won contracts for the 2016-17 year, but Exelon said Friday that the agreed-upon price is “insufficient to cover cash operating costs.”

If the favorable legislation doesn’t pass and the Quad Cities plant fails the auction, then the Clinton plant will close on June 1, 2017, and Quad Cities will cease operations a year later....

[Bigun]

Exelon to Close Two Nuclear Plants if Needs Aren’t Met
http://www.wsj.com/articles/exelon-to-close-two-nuclear-plants-if-needs-arent-met-1462544157
 May 6, 2016

Very interesting! Thanks!

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Exelon to Close Two Nuclear Plants if Needs Aren’t Met
http://www.wsj.com/articles/exelon-to-close-two-nuclear-plants-if-needs-arent-met-1462544157
 May 6, 2016

It may be surmised that perhaps on the nuclear side of things, that what is happening is the onerous regulations imposed by the authorities may be responsible for the high operational costs of the plants?  If so, this may be a scheme to milk the consumer similar to the way gasoline milks them.

In gasoline, the retail companies are tax collectors of the gas tax, so these taxes are suppressed from public awareness.  In places like California, the huge costs of refining and distribution related to reformulated blends required by the state are also passed along to consumers, with the retailers being the collectors.

So in Illinois, if the state imposes mandates that make the costs of electricity generation skyrocket, these costs are also passed along to consumers by the power companies being the collectors, hiding the costs of these regulations from the public.  I know utility bills may have some of these on them, but most folks just look at the bottom line.

Last time I redid my electricity provider, I researched to ensure I got a company that had the lowest amount of power generation provided by renewables.  Just trying to do my part in making sense of what at times is an upside down world

[Bigun]

It may be surmised that perhaps on the nuclear side of things, that what is happening is the onerous regulations imposed by the authorities may be responsible for the high operational costs of the plants?  If so, this may be a scheme to milk the consumer similar to the way gasoline milks them.

In gasoline, the retail companies are tax collectors of the gas tax, so these taxes are suppressed from public awareness.  In places like California, the huge costs of refining and distribution related to reformulated blends required by the state are also passed along to consumers, with the retailers being the collectors.

So in Illinois, if the state imposes mandates that make the costs of electricity generation skyrocket, these costs are also passed along to consumers by the power companies being the collectors, hiding the costs of these regulations from the public.  I know utility bills may have some of these on them, but most folks just look at the bottom line.

Last time I redid my electricity provider, I researched to ensure I got a company that had the lowest amount of power generation provided by renewables.  Just trying to do my part in making sense of what at times is an upside down world

Of course! And there is more to it than just that but I'll leave it alone for now.

[MajorClay]

I've always thought that 'baseload' should be 50% coal and 50% Nuke.  I know all others are a small percentage.  Nat gas should be used for 'peaker' units.

[thackney]

I've always thought that 'baseload' should be 50% coal and 50% Nuke.  I know all others are a small percentage.  Nat gas should be used for 'peaker' units.

Natural Gas has gotten cheap enough that with high efficiency combined cycle power turbines, it is cheaper to run them as base load rather than coal in many places.