As Entergy faces continued opposition to relicensing its Indian Point reactors, the conservative Manhattan Institute think tank undertook a study to calculate the costs to electricity customers and the region's economy if it closed.
For the typical residential customer, the study concluded, that would likely amount to an increase of between $76 and $112 per year.
"Because (Indian Point) provides significant quantities of round-the-clock electricity to the New York City area and because of long-standing constraints that limit how much electricity can be imported from upstate New York, New England, New Jersey, and elsewhere, closing (Indian Point) would require the development of higher-cost alternatives," read the report authored by economist Jonathan A. Lesser and titled "The Economic Impacts of Closing and Replacing the Indian Point Energy Center."
The impacts of using those higher-cost alternatives would include the imposition of $1.26 million to $1.85 million in annual costs on the subway system, the study said. In total, average annual electricity expenditures in New York state would increase by $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion over a 15-year period, resulting in reduced economic output amounting to $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion per year.
The study considered alternatives to replace the Indian Point power generation that included new natural gas plants, new high-voltage transmission lines, new renewable generation, conservation measures or some combination of those approaches.