Exelon Corp. is seeking a pricing model in Illinois that recognizes the societal benefits of nuclear power, as it considers closing the Quad Cities, Byron and Clinton power stations prematurely, due to the negative economic environment.
Following a Nuclear Energy Institute report that tallied the economic impacts of the 11 commercial power plants in the state, which was released in early October, a company official said Exelon was not seeking a financial bailout. But policy makers should find a pricing plan that reflects nuclear power's pristine greenhouse gas emissions track record and its influence on grid stabilization, Quad Cities Generating Station's Senior Communications Manager William Stoermer said.
Nuclear power provides Illinois with 48 percent of its electricity and the three at-risk plants provide the power for three million homes, the Daily-Journal reported Tuesday
But pricing support has deteriorated. Stoermer said prices at times have fallen into negative territory with profit margins in the red. State lawmakers, he said, should support a pricing model that recognizes the discrete benefits of nuclear power, which generates $8.9 billion in annual economic output in Illinois.
Nuclear power employs 5,900 people in the state in carbon emissions-free jobs. The Quad Cities power plant alone generates $1.4 billion in annual economic impact, employs 900 people and paid $7.4 million in property taxes this year, the newspaper said.
The Erie School District in Cordova can attest to the tax impact of the Quad Cities Power Station. The school district raised $9.5 million in local tax revenues in 2014, according to the district's Web site. The Quad Cities facility, meanwhile, paid $7.4 million in property taxes, more than half of which went to the school district.
The $3.7 million from the power plant is more than a third of the school district's total budget of $11 million.
Nuclear Energy Institute Senior Vice President of Policy Development Richard Myers said four primary factors were putting negative pressure on pricing. Demand is stagnant – and has been since 2008, he said. Grid congestion, which decreases distribution efficiencies, is significant. Energy policies are giving alternative power sources unfair advantages. And historically low prices for natural gas are undermining price stability.
The plants are stabilizing, clean and productive, but the public often fails to consider this when they use electricity, which seems effortless and omnipresent.
Closing a plant would be a rude awakening, Stoermer said. "When they do go away, if they go away, the impact is pretty large. These facilities are real economic engines for the community and counties in which they operate,” he said.
Plant investments can be measured by looking at their licenses. Clinton Power Station Unit 1, a boiling water reactor in DeWitt County, has an operating license that is good through September 2026. The Byron Generating Station Units 1 and 2 in Ogle County, both pressurized water reactors, have licenses that expire in October 2024 and November 2026, respectively. Quad Cities Unit 1 and 2, boiling water reactors, are both licensed through 2032.
Should all three power plants close in 2015, that would represent a total of 65 years of unrealized operating license investments.
Exelon's decision on the fate of three plants is not expected until after June in 2015.