Will Millstone Nuclear Plant Become A Millstone Around CT Consumer’s Necks?
Image courtesy of United States Department of Energy
Connecticut’s lawmakers on the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee are worrying over the Millstone Nuclear plant in Waterford. All across the country, nuclear power plants aren’t able to compete with cheaper natural gas plants and they’re owners are closing them down.
Most notably in recent news is the Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester which is slated to shut down 14 years early in 2021. Entergy Corporation, which owns three other nuclear plants in the state, announced it plans to close them unless New York State subsidizes their operations and passes the cost to consumers. Needless to say, New York electricity customers are not very keen on the notion.
CT lawmakers are understandably apprehensive about Millstone’s future. While Millstone’s owner, Virginia-based Dominion Resources, has not so much as squeaked about closing Millstone, the deteriorating profitability of the plant might eventually tempt Dominion to pull the same subsidizing squeeze on CT.
In the meantime, there’s proposed Senate Bill 106, “An act concerning zero-carbon electric generating facilities and achieving Connecticut’s greenhouse gas emissions mandated levels.” with the goal of providing a means for “zero-carbon generation facilities to sell to electric utilities.” The new regulation would let zero-carbon generators bypass the competitive daily auction process that sets wholesale prices and sell up to half its power in a new market under long-term contracts. This special status is currently reserved for renewables, large-scale hydropower, and trash-to-energy facilities. If SB106 eventually passes, Millstone will enjoy the same privileges as renewables—even though it supplies nearly 50% of CT’s power.
Natural gas plant owners recently testified before the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee, essentially calling the SB 106 a means to subsidize Millstone. A recent AARP survey showed that over half of older CT residents disagree with subsidizing the plant.
In response, Dominion released its own study arguing that closing the 2,037 MW plant would be even more costly than keeping it open. The study claims by keeping the plant open, customers:
- would save since the plant hedges against increasing natural gas prices.
- will save $500 through 2030.
- will see annual average energy prices stay lower.
- will avoid impacts in ISO-NE’s wholesale electric capacity markets that could potentially add “another $1.5 billion7 for New England consumers in the year of a Millstone retirement.”
Nuclear plants not only supply lots of power but also employ hundreds of workers. Closing the plant would undoubtedly posed larger economic effects to the state in addition to the lost generation. However, supporters of the plant haven’t been too clear on how Millstone will earn enough revenue to remain open past 2021.