EnergyIllinois may have to subsidize more Exelon reactors to keep them running -study
Reuters
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A general view of the city of Chicago, March 23, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Young /File Photo
Illinois may have to provide subsidies to more of Exelon Corp s (EXC.O) nuclear plants if it wants the carbon-free power those reactors produce to help the state transition from dirty fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy, according to a study.
Illinois hired Synapse Energy Economics, a consulting firm, to conduct the study in January after Exelon in August 2020 said it would retire uneconomic nuclear reactors at Byron in September 2021 and Dresden in November 2021.
Exelon's six Illinois nuclear plants provided more than half of the electricity generated in the state in 2019, with Byron and Dresden responsible for about a fifth of the total, according to federal records.
From this past January…
The Pritzker administration has hired an outside firm to scrutinize Exelon’s claims that some of its Illinois nuclear plants are losing money.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency early this month finalized a $215,000 emergency contract with Cambridge, Mass.-based Synapse Energy Economics. The firm, which has done work in the past for consumer advocates like the Illinois attorney general’s office and the Citizens Utility Board, will report back on the financial condition of the nukes by April 1.
It’s tasked with auditing the company’s plants, assessing costs and revenues given now and projecting over the next five years, according to the emergency purchase statement. Among the qualifications the Pritzker administration specified for the role was that the firm chosen could not have done work for Exelon in the past. That disqualified a fair number of bidders.
By WMAY Newsroom
Apr 15, 2021 1:59 PM
A consulting firm hired by Governor JB Pritzker’s administration is recommending that the state support limited subsidies to help keep two Exelon nuclear power plants open.
The report from Synapse Energy Economics says the Byron and Dresden plants are at risk of being unprofitable and may need help to keep operating. The firm’s report calls for a smaller package of assistance than one approved by former governor Bruce Rauner in 2016, and says any help must be contingent on Exelon providing full financial information on the profitability of the plants.
Exelon has threatened to close the Byron and Dresden plants without help from the state.