PPL Corp. has announced that it plans to spin off its reactors at Susquehanna and other merchant power plants in a deal with Riverstone Holdings.
The new publicly traded company, called Talen Energy Corp., will operate 15,320 megawatts of nuclear and fossil generating capacity. PPL will retain its regulated plants while divesting itself of the Pennsylvania reactors and other assets in a deal that distributes 65 percent of new Talen shares to PPL stockholders.
The spinoff is subject to regulatory approval, including that of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Susquehanna uses two General Electric Type 4 boiling water reactors licensed in the early 1980s to generate about 2,600 megawatts. In a release Monday, PPL said it expects layoffs after the deal closes, although it hasn't determined which plants or positions will be affected.