Entergy on Wednesday said it took a revenue hit from the closure of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts during the second quarter of 2019.
Even so, the New Orleans-based power company’s Entergy Wholesale Commodities (EWC) business slimmed its losses in the latest earning period. Entergy Wholesale Commodities reported a $26 million loss, or $0.13 per share, on an as-reported basis. That was an improvement from a $57 million loss, $0.31 per share, in the same quarter of 2018, according to an Entergy press release.
“Second quarter 2019 earnings reflected lower impairment charges as compared to a year ago,” the release says. ”EWC also recorded higher gains on decommissioning trust funds. These items were partially offset by lower revenue due to the shutdown of Pilgrim and tax benefits incurred in second quarter 2018.”
Pilgrim, a single-reactor facility on Cape Cod, was retired on May 31. Entergy hopes to soon sell the plant, along with the trust fund that will pay for its decommissioning, to New Jersey energy technology company Holtec. The new owner would then have all responsibility for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management on the property.
Pilgrim currently has $1.035 billion in its decommissioning trust fund. Holtec contends it can do the entire decommissioning — including spent fuel management and restoration — for $1.13 billion and have the project largely done by 2027. Entergy’s plan had called for keeping the 47-year-old facility intact for several decades before tearing it down at an estimated cost of $1.66 billion.
The Pilgrim shutdown left Entergy Wholesale Commodities with just two operating nuclear power facilities: the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state and the Palisades Power Plant in Michigan. Both are scheduled for closure by 2022, and to be sold to Holtec.
“We will significantly … reduce our risk as we exit the EWC. … We’re fully transferring our decommissioning liabilities to the new owner,” said Entergy CFO Drew Marsh in a Wednesday teleconference with analysts.
Indian Point reactor No. 1 is already closed, with $525 million in its decommissioning trust fund, according to a slide provided for Wednesday’s teleconference. Analysts and corporate officials did not discuss the slides on the reactors during the call.
Indian Point reactor No. 2 set to close by April 30, 2020; it has $664 million in its decommissioning trust fund. Indian Point No. 3 is set to close by April 30, 2021; it currently has $873 million in its decommissioning trust.
Palisades is set to close by May 31, 2022; it has $489 million in its decommissioning trust. The NRC expects the minimum amount needed to decommission Palisades to be $457.2 million.
Company-wide, Entergy reported second-quarter earnings of $236 million, $1.22 per share, on an as-reported basis. That was down by $9 million from $245 million, $1.34 per share, in the second quarter of 2018.
Adjusted earnings, on a non-generally adjusted accounting principles basis, came in at $262 million, $1.35 per share. That rose by $3 million on a year-over-year basis, from $259 million, $1.42 per share.
Management slimmed its earnings-per-share outlook for the year, from a range of $5.10 to $5.50 to a range of $5.15 to $5.45.
