Exelon Corporation said Tuesday that it would close down the Three Miles Island Generating Station in Pennsylvania in September 2019, barring an unexpected policy shift that would turn the current energy market economics around for the state's nuclear power industry.
Exelon said that amending Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) policy to an approach “similar to (the policies) being implemented in Illinois and New York,” would allow them to revisit the decision to close the plant. As it is, “nuclear power is not included in the state's AEPS. Yet 16 clean power sources, including solar, wind and hydro are supported by this state's energy policy,” the company noted.
The statement issued by Exelon includes some bitter truths, especially so in the age of growing alarm over global warming and the role cheap natural gas – a climate change contributor – is having on the energy markets. With some added irony, Pennsylvania is a state where the technique of fracking has contributed significantly to the turnaround in the energy market.
“Exelon is committed to working with its stakeholders to find the best solution for Pennsylvania – one that will maintain nuclear energy's $2 billion annual contribution to the state's economy and its approximately 16,000 direct and indirect Pennsylvania jobs,” the company said.
“Today is a difficult day, not just for the 675 talented men and women who have dedicated themselves to operating Three Mile Island safety and reliably every day, but also for their families, the communities and customers who depend on this plant to produce clean energy and support local jobs,” said Exelon President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Crane.
“Like New York and Illinois before it, the Commonwealth has an opportunity to take a leadership role by implementing a policy solution to preserve its nuclear energy facilities,” Crane said.
The company, however, is taking the necessary steps to move towards a final shut down Three Mile Island Unit 1, a Babcock & Wilcox Lowered Loop pressurized water reactor that was first commissioned in 1974. This includes canceling 2019 fuel purchase and outage planning, terminating capital investment projects that would be needed for long-term support, and accepting a one-time $65 million to $110 million charge for 2017. The corporation will also accelerate the plant's depreciation schedule significantly, hastening the depreciation of up to $1.1 billion through the announced shut down date.
The current license is not set to expire until April 2034, meaning the company is giving up on 15 years of potential production life for the power plant.
It was Unit 2 at the facility that suffered the partial meltdown that is often called the worst ever accident at a nuclear power plant in the United States.
The incident that took place March 28, 1979, was rated at a five on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale, which categorizes the event as an “accident with wider consequences.” The radioactive releases during the accident were feared to cause a spike in local cancers. A rise in thyroid cancers among residents who lived within 10 miles of the power plant was noted by the Pennysylvania Cancer Registry, but the rise was considered statistically insignificant, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.