Exelon to Close Two Nuclear Plants if Needs Aren’t Met, WSJ By AUSTEN HUFFORD 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 plantand its Quad Cities nuclear power plant, which is based nearCordova, 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……..
Abe Scarr, Director of Illinois PIRG, a public interest advocacy organization that fights against “powerful interests,” said the bill amounted to a nuclear bailout.
“Ratepayers have paid multiple times for these plants over the decades,” Mr. Scarr said. “We should be investing in the energy generation for the future. We should not be doubling down on an energy source of the past that is not competitive.”
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……http://www.wsj.com/articles/exelon-to-close-two-nuclear-plants-if-needs-arent-met-1462544157
