NRC file photo of Exelon's Ginna atomic reactor on the shore of Lake Ontario, in Ontario, NY, 20 miles northeast of Rochester.As reported by Barry Cassell at PowerEngineering, Exelon Nuclear is seeking approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a plan that would gouge Rochester Gas & Electric (RG&E) ratepayers, at above market rates, to keep the uncompetitive Ginna atomic reactor in Ontario, NY operating till 2018 or even 2020. Exelon has lobbied and convinced RG&E, as well as the NYPSC (New York Public Service Commission) and NYISO (New York Independent System Operator), that Ginna is needed to maintain grid reliability.
Ginna is a small (581 Megawatt-electric), single unit nuclear power plant. Its operating license was issued in Sept., 1969, making it one of the very oldest atomic reactors still operating the U.S. In July 2013, energy economist Dr. Mark Cooper of Vermont Law School identified Ginna as one of the top reactors in the country at risk of near-term shutdown.