Entergy Talking Possible Sale of Upstate Nuclear Plant

James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant, Scriba, NY

SCRIBA, NY—Entergy Corp., which announced in November 2015 the planned closure of its James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant here, reports it is holding discussions with Chicago-based Exelon Corp. on the possible sale of the 838-megawatt facility The two companies confirmed that discussions surrounding the sale of the James A. FitzPatrick plant are ongoing. Entergy, which also owns and operates the Indian Point 2 and 3 nuclear power plants in Buchanan, NY in Westchester County, had previously announced plans to decommission the FitzPatrick plant, stating it would cease plant operations in late January 2017. The FitzPatrick nuclear power plant generates 838 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 800,000 homes. “In keeping with our corporate strategy to move away from merchant power markets and toward a company operating exclusively as a utility in regulated markets, we are working with Exelon to come to commercial terms on a sale transaction that depends largely on the final terms and timeliness of the New York State Clean Energy Standard,” says Entergy wholesale commodities president Bill Mohl. “We thank New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his leadership in promoting the Clean Energy Standard, which provides incentives for financially strapped nuclear power plants.” Exelon also praised the draft New York State Clean Energy Standard that was detailed in a Department of Public Service staff paper released today. Exelon owns and operates the Ginna nuclear power plant in Ontario, NY and the Nine Mile nuclear power plant in Oswego, NY. If discussions between Entergy and Exelon do not result in an agreement for the sale and transfer of ownership of FitzPatrick, Entergy will move forward with its current plan to cease operations, followed by decommissioning, the company states in an announcement. “Our focus remains on providing employees and the community the best opportunity we can to prepare for either a transition to a new owner or a shutdown and decommissioning,” says Brian Sullivan, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at FitzPatrick. Negotiations between Entergy and Exelon are targeted for completion in mid-August. The finalization of the governor’s Clean Energy Standard appears critical to not only the possible sale of the FitzPatrick plant, but the continued operation of Exelon’s other two nuclear facilities in New York State. “Without Gov. Cuomo’s leadership and the development of the Clean Energy Standard, our units at Nine Mile Point and Ginna in Upstate New York are in jeopardy of closure,” says Joseph Dominguez, executive vice president for governmental and regulatory affairs and public policy, Exelon. The two plants employ 1,400 full-time workers. “If the program is approved, we will immediately reinvest approximately $200 million in the plants in the spring and continue to operate. If the program is not approved, we need to go in a different direction,” Dominguez says. Gov. Cuomo in a statement in response to the announcement of talks between Entergy and Exelon, says, “”The announcement this morning of negotiations on Exelon’s potential acquisition of the James A. Fitzpatrick nuclear power plant from Entergy is welcome news to New Yorkers. Over the past several months, my administration has been working closely with both companies to find a way to keep this vital energy resource operating. While there remains much work to be done, I am pleased that significant progress is being made.”