NJ BPU set to move ahead with nuclear subsidy application process, By Daniel J. Munoz, NJBIZ October 4, 2018 The state’s public utilities board is set to begin the process for determining which nuclear power plants should receive ratepayer subsidies to stay afloat.
Known as the zero emissions certificate (ZEC) program, $300 million of subsidies would be paid through an additional surcharge on ratepayers bills, and nuclear power plant operators can apply for a piece of the pie.
The ZEC program was enacted with Gov. Phil Murphy’s signing of Senate Bill 2313 in May.
Thursday evening in Hackensack, the board will hold the first of three public sessions to gather testimony on how it will structure the application process. The board will hold additional hearings in Atlantic City on Oct. 10 and in New Brunswick on Oct. 11.
The BPU is scheduled to unveil the program recipients in April……….
The state’s largest utility, Public Service Enterprise Group, threatened to shut down its South Jersey Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power, if it did not receive the subsidies.
PSEG argued that the plants were losing money and could not stay afloat without the ZEC subsidies.
On Aug. 29, the BPU sent out a letter regarding the ZEC program’s implementation to the state’s largest electric companies: PSEG, Jersey Central Power & Light Co., Rockland Electric Co. and Atlantic City Electric Co. The letter was also sent to the New Jersey Rate Counsel and Butler Power & Light.
But the ZEC program has fallen under disapproval by New Jersey’s environmental activists.
Jeff Tittel, president of the environmental advocacy group the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the program is a subsidy to PSEG and other nuclear plant operators at the expense of ratepayers.
“We need to pass legislation that supports renewable energy like feasible solar and wind projects. Instead, they went ahead with this package that is nothing but greencover for the largest subsidy in state history,” Tittel said in a statement. http://www.njbiz.com/article/20181004/NJBIZ01/181009914/nj-bpu-set-to-move-ahead-with-nuclear-subsidy-application-process