"Dynegy, Talen: We’ll Sue" to stop FirstEnergy bailout

As reported by Ted Caddell in RTO Insider's article "Merchant Generators Lead Opposition to FirstEnergy-Ohio Settlement," when it comes to "picking winners and losers," Beyond Nuclear has some diverse allies in opposing a risky 20-year license extension at the problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor, when it comes compliments of an outrageous, multi-billion dollar ratepayer bailout:

Talen joined Dynegy in promising to contest the deal in court if it is approved by the commission.

“As you are aware [PPL, one of Talen’s predecessors] led successful legal challenges in the federal courts against generation subsidy initiatives in New Jersey and Maryland,” Talen spokesman Todd Martin said Thursday. Before PPL’s generation assets were spun off to form Talen, the company won court rulings voiding PPAs obtained by Competitive Power Ventures for two merchant plants. (See CPV Md. Plant Goes Forward Despite FERC Ruling.)

“We believe states with competitive electricity markets must let those markets operate without interference or subsidies, and should not in effect be picking winners and losers,” Martin said.

P3 President Glen Thomas said PUCO staff’s “about face” represents “corporate welfare at its worst.”

“Forcing customers to buy overpriced electricity from uncompetitive plants to deliver windfall profits to FirstEnergy is a holiday offering that only the Grinch could support,” said Trey Addison of AARP Ohio.

“This bailout would leave Ohio locked into outdated and costly coal and nuclear plants, when we should instead be working to transition to a cleaner and more competitive energy system,” said Shannon Fisk, managing attorney with Earthjustice. Fisk was involved in settlement negotiations on behalf of the Sierra Club but withdrew in protest just before Thanksgiving.

Also weighing in was anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear, which blasted any deal that would result in the continued operations of FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant. “The ratepayers of Ohio would be gouged additional billions of dollars on their electricity bills to prop up the uncompetitive Davis-Besse atomic reactor, effectively being forced to fund 20 more years of radioactive Russian roulette at the problem-plagued atomic reactor,” Beyond Nuclear spokesman Kevin Kamps.

As revealed on a radio interview hosted by Harvey Wasserman of Solartopia fame, Shannon Fisk of Earthjustice indicated that Sierra Club will continue to challenge the PUCO staff-FirstEnergy sweetheart deal, as by urging the PUCO Commissioners to not approve it. As with Dynegy and Talen, further legal action is also under consideration.

Decreasing economies of scale put pressure on remaining Entergy Nuclear merchant reactors

As reported by Syracuse.com, Entergy Nuclear's top executive in charge of its fleet of merchant nuclear power plants, William Mohl, has admitted that its remaining atomic reactors are under increasing pressure, due to loss of economies of scale:

"We don't have any immediate plans (to change direction) on Indian Point, but you start to have to think about what will you do down the road if you have a single asset in the Northeast,'' he said. "You just have less economies of scale. We're looking at that and what we need to do in that regard.''

Although his context was Entergy's two unit Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City, in light of Entergy's recent rapid-fire decisions to close FitzPatrick in upstate NY (as early as a year from now, but hopefully sooner), and Pilgrim in MA (in mid-2019, but hopefully sooner), the same logic applies at Entergy's age-degraded, problem-plagued Palisades atomic reactor in MI as well:

Entergy is preparing to decommission three of its so-called "merchant" nuclear reactors, each of which sells power in unregulated wholesale markets in the Northeast. After the closures of Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim and FitzPatrick, Entergy Wholesale Commodities will have just three merchant reactors left – two at Indian Point and one in Michigan.

(Note that Entergy also operates the Cooper atomic reactor in Nebraska, although it is owned by Nebraska Public Power District.)

Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer at Fairewinds Associates, Inc., in Burlington, VT, and Beyond Nuclear's expert witness in its Palisades legal intervention of the past year, pointed out at the time of the Pilgrim and FitzPatrick closure announcements, several weeks ago, that in addition to Vermont Yankee's actual closure about a year ago, the Pilgrim and FitzPatrick closure announcements hold deep significance for the loss of economies of scale for Entergy, across its dwindling reactor fleet.

This adds to the pressure for closure of Palisades, as well as Indian Point.

So too does the fact that, despite his absurd acrobatic back flips attempting to keep FitzPatrick open (as described in the article above; he is joined in that, unfortunately, by US Senator Schumer (D-NY)), NY Gov. Cuomo is, at least, strongly opposed to the 20-year license extension at Entergy's Indian Point Unit 2 & 3 nuclear power plant, precariously close to New York City. The State of New York recently denied Indian Point permission to keep dumping two-thirds of the heat it generates from splitting atoms (a massive amount of thermal pollution, something like the heat generated by the Hiroshima atomic bomb, per hour!) into the Hudson River.

What this means is, if Entergy wants to keep operating Indian Point, it would have to build cooling towers, at a cost of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Or take other mitigative action, such as shutting down the two reactors during fish spawning season, for several long months per year (with a consequent loss of revenues during that downtime). It would probably close Indian Point before doing any such things.

And if Indian Point, under growing pressure in New York to close, does close, that would leave Palisades standing alone, as Entergy's sole merchant reactor, after FitzPatrick and Pilgrim also retire. Which means economies of scale are completely lost. One can only hope, THAT would convince Entergy to -- at long last -- close Palisades, for economic reasons alone (never mind the ever mounting public health, safety, and environmental risks!). These include the Palisades reactor pressure vessel's age-related degradation, such as neutron radiation embrittlement risks. Ironically enough, whereas Palisades has the worst embrittlement risks in the country, Indian Point Unit 3 is not far behind (see page 5 of 15 on the PDF counter in this NRC document)!

Please note that, 2.5 years ago, Dr. Mark Cooper of Vermont Law School predicted that Entergy's entire merchant fleet was at risk of near-term permanent shutdown, for a variety of reasons. He's been proven correct about Vermont Yankee, and now Pilgrim and FitzPatrick. But he also predicted that Indian Point and Palisades were at risk of near-term permanent shutdown. Let's hope, for the sake of New York and Michigan, the Hudson River and the Great Lakes, that he is correct about them, as well. And let's keep working hard to help make this happen, sooner rather than later! As the campaign slogan of Michigan Safe Energy Future puts it, "Shutdown Before Meltdown!"

Beyond Nuclear blasts billion dollar Davis-Besse bailout as "Faustian fission" due to cracked containment risks

"Burning money" graphic by Gene Case of Avenging Angels.Beyond Nuclear has published a media release in response to FirstEnergy and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Staff announcing a settlement agreement for an eight-year, nearly $4 billion ratepayer bailout to prop up the utility's uncompetitive Davis-Besse atomic reactor, as well as a number of coal burning power plants. (See the Word version of Beyond Nuclear's media release, for live links.)

Davis-Besse had dodged more radioactive bullets over the past 40 years than any other single reactor in the U.S. But will it be so lucky for another 20-years of radioactive Russian roulette on the Great Lakes shore?

In this high-stakes, big money "game" of "Faustian fission," Mephistopheles could return in the form of a meltdown.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is poised to rubber-stamp the 2017-2037 license extension. Beyond Nuclear has helped lead the grassroots resistance against that, for the past five years.

Davis-Besse has the concrete containment fatal fracturing of a Crystal River, FL; the risky, experimental steam generator replacement of a San Onofre, CA; and the inability to compete of a Kewaunee, WI, Pilgrim, MA, and FitzPatrick, NY. So why is it still operating?! Opponents hope to accomplish "a Vermont Yankee," and "a Gentilly, Quebec," and force Davis-Besse's shutdown, before it melts down.

Update on December 2, 2015 by admin

RTO Insider, Columbus Business First, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer have reported on the PUCO Staff/FirstEnergy settlement agreement on the bailout proposal, as well as others' vehement opposition, and vow to fight on.

Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps got a letter to the editor published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, opposing the Davis-Besse bailout and calling for the reactor's shutdown.

Beyond Nuclear joins PowerDC at DC city hall rally to urge "No Deal!" on Exelon Nuclear's takeover of Pepco

Participants in the PowerDC rally against Exelon's takeover of Pepco took a group photo before marching to DC Mayor Muriel Bowwer's officeOn Sept. 17th, Beyond Nuclear staff joined with allies in the PowerDC coalition at the Wilson Building -- housing the Executive Office of the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser -- to urge her to not cave to lobbyists' pressure from Exelon Nuclear of Chicago. The Washington City Paper and the Washington Post (the latter with a Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI, ad in the center of the article) have reported on the rally. (Exelon Nuclear is the largest commercial nuclear power utility member of NEI; Christopher M. Crane, the President and CEO of Exelon Nuclear, is also the Chairman of NEI).

Last month, the DC Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously rejected Exelon's takeover of Mid-Atlantic utility Pepco, a ruling Mayor Bowser said she supported at that time. DC was the only jurisdiction to reject the merger. DE, MD, NJ, and VA, as well as FERC and DOJ, have already approved it. However, a single jurisdictional rejection nixes the deal for all jurisdictions.

But, Exelon appears unwilling to take no for an answer.

Since the DC PSC rejection last month, Exelon (and Pepco, the shareholders of which would make a killing on the acquisition) lobbyists have taken to back room deal making, as well as a high-priced ad campaign. In addition, the two companies will formally appeal the DC PSC decision by the Sept. 28th deadline, and have also threatened a lawsuit.

It is clear that, once Exelon would take over Pepco, renewable energy and energy efficiency advances, built over years at Pepco, would be reversed as unwanted competition to Exelon's atomic reactors. Rates would be raised, to funnel the money back to IL, to prop up five dirty, dangerous, and uncompetitive reactors there. And DC would lose yet more local control -- something District residents and decision makers already suffer, given DC's non-voting status in Congress, as well as federal oversight on basic policies.

Beyond Nuclear staff handed out action cards, urging folks contact Mayor Bowser, and also providing a link to exposés by Nuclear Energy Information Service of Chicago, a 34 year watchdog, on Exelon's nuclear misdeeds in IL and beyond.

PowerDC has a webform where you can take action, urging Mayor Bowser and DC City Council Members to stand firm, and not buckle under Exelon Nuclear's lobbying pressure or threats of a lawsuit. Not only DC residents and taxpayers should weigh in with DC political leaders, but also the many millions of people who visit the nation's capital each year -- all of whom will pay, monetarily and with their health and safety, if Exelon's dirty, dangerous, and expensive atomic reactor fleet become the driver for Mid-Atlantic electric power decision making!

Speakers at the rally -- attended by a couple hundred people -- included: 

• Judi Jones, ANC 4B 
• Councilmember Mary Cheh (Ward 3)
• Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6)
• Councilmember Elissa Silverman (At-Large)
• Delvone Michael, DC Working Families
• Pastor Earl D. Trent, Florida Ave Baptist Church
• Andy Shallal, DC business leader & Owner, Busboys & Poets
• Anthony Lorenzo Green, Chair, ANC 8B
• Jim McGrath, Tenants Association of DC
• Akili West, DC SUN & Ward 8 Solar Co-Op
• John Capozzi, Pepco Shareholder
• Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
• Hudson Brown & Katie Bryden, American University
• John Chelan, Ward 3 Democrats & DC Public Power
• Keshini Ladduwahetty, DC for Democracy 
• Rob Robinson, Grid 2.0 / DC CUB
• Dana Sleeper, MDVSEIA 
• Randy Speck, Chair, ANC 3G

Cue up the bailout plea: Entergy might close aging FitzPatrick nuclear plant in New York State

Entergy's FitzPatrick atomic reactor (NRC file photo).The subject line above is Scott Stapf of the Hasting Group's Tweet pointing to an article at Syracuse.com. The dirty, age-degraded, dangerous, expensive, uncompetitive Fukushima Daiichi twin design (a General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactor) on the Lake Ontario shore in upstate NY (see photo), couldn't close a moment too soon!