Entergy to Sell Indian Point Nuclear Plant

By Kimberly Chin

Entergy Corp. (ETR) said that it would sell its Indian Point Energy Center to Holtec International, after the company agreed to a timeline to shut down the nuclear power units follow decades of litigation with the state of New York over environmental and safety concerns.

Entergy had agreed to shutdown the aging power plants by 2020 and 2021. The company said lower wholesale power prices were the main reason behind its decision to shut down the units.

Holtec International has partnered with Comprehensive Decommissioning International LLC a joint venture company of Canada-based SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. to perform the decommissioning of all three reactor units.

The sale will include the Buchanan, NY-based Indian Point Unit 1, 2 and 3, and will be effective after Unit 3 has been shut down and permanently defueled. Under an agreement with New York state, Entergy had scheduled to shut down Unit 2 and Unit 3 by April 30, 2020 and April 30, 2021. Indian Point Unit 1 was shutdown in 1974.

The transaction is slated for completion by the third quarter of 2021.

Though a timeline for the decommissioning hasn't been set, Holtec said it plans to initiate the decommissioning sooner than Entergy's timetable.

Holtec, which is a nuclear reactor equipment supplier, will assume the licenses, spent fuel, decommissioning liabilities and nuclear decommissioning trusts of the units, according to the deal.

Entergy anticipates the deal will result in a loss from the value of its nuclear decommissioning trusts, asset retirement obligations, plant operations and taxes.

With the deal, Holtec will have six reactors at four nuclear facilities and an independent fuel storage installation in Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Indian Point Energy Center has two operating nuclear power plants, Unit 2 and Unit 3, which generate about 2,000 megawatts of electricity for homes, businesses, and public facilities around New York City and Westchester County.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2019 09:03 ET (13:03 GMT)

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