Exelon to Buy New York Nuclear Plant From Entergy

By Austen Hufford 

Exelon Generation agreed to buy a nuclear power plant that Entergy Corp. had slated to close after subsidies were approved by New York state regulators to keep it open.

Exelon is buying the 838-megawatt FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, N.Y., for about $110 million.

Last week, the New York State Public Service Commission approved energy standards that requires 50% of New York's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2030. The plan also requires electricity suppliers to purchase zero-emission credits that help subsidize New York's nuclear power plants.

Entergy notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that it planned to close the plant on Jan. 27, 2017, and said in July that it was in discussions to sell the plant.

The plant produces enough electricity to power 800,000 homes, and it employs about 600 workers. Exelon said it intends to refuel the plant in January 2017 and does not anticipate staffing level changes.

The New York Power Authority will transfer the decommissioning trust fund and liability for FitzPatrick to Entergy, and if the deal closes, Exelon would then take control of them. FitzPatrick was opened in 1975.

The deal is contingent on regulatory review and approval by various government agencies including the U.S. Justice Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the New York State Public Service Commission.

Exelon shares rose 0.8% as Entergy shares rose 0.2% in morning trading.

Write to Austen Hufford at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 09, 2016 11:25 ET (15:25 GMT)

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