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Exelon details plans to close Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants

Exelon said June 2, 2016, that it will move ahead with plans to shutter the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants, blaming the lack of progress on Illinois energy legislation.

Exelon said Thursday it would move ahead with plans to shutter the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants, blaming the lack of progress on Illinois energy legislation, but said its decision could be reversed.

The company, the parent of Chicago-area utilities provider ComEd, said the Clinton Power Station would close June 1, 2017, and the Quad Cities Generating Station in Cordova would close June 1, 2018. The plants have lost a combined $800 million in the past seven years, despite being "two of the best-performing plants," the company said in a statement.

The move comes after the Illinois General Assembly adjourned earlier this week without acting on legislation known as the Next Generation Energy Plan, which Exelon said would help save the nuclear plants. Consumer advocates are concerned the legislation would put consumers on the hook for fixing what ails Exelon's nuclear facilities.

Exelon said it expects the plant closings to have a significant economic impact on the regions in which they operate. Both plants support roughly 4,200 direct and indirect jobs, including 700 workers at Clinton and 800 workers at Quad Cities and produce more than $1.2 billion in economic activity annually, the company said. Exelon cited a state report that the plant closings could boost wholesale energy costs in the region by $439 million to $645 million annually.

Exelon said its proposal would raise consumer's bills by about 25 cents per month while ensuring stability and improving Illinois' energy markets. But critics have charged that consumers would see their bills climb an average of $3 per month

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-exelon-closing-nuke-plants-0603-biz-2-20160602-story.html

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