Entergy has withdrawn its plan submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to permanently shut down its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant – a potential signal that the utility is confident of closing the sale of the facility to fellow power company Exelon.
The $110 million deal, which would allow the struggling plant to remain in operation, has received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the New York Public Service Commission. The NRC is conducting its own review.
Entergy on Jan. 4 filed the withdrawal notice, which was made public Tuesday. The utility had planned to close the site this month for financial reasons, but struck the deal with Exelon in August. The two sides came to terms following the New York Public Service Commission’s (NYPSC) approval of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard. That program is projected to pay upstate nuclear power plant operators nearly $8 billion in energy subsidies over its lifetime; if the deal goes through, Exelon would own all three upstate nuclear plants.
