Absent Legislation, Exelon to Close Clinton, Quad Cities Nukes

As reported by RTO Insider, as well as the Wall Street Journal, Exelon Nuclear has threatened to permanently close its Clinton nuclear power plant by June 1, 2017, and its Quad Cities nuclear power plant a year later, unless the State of Illinois approves a large-scale bailout. Exelon's lobbyists seeks $300 million per year, for several years, amounting to more than $1.5 billion in subsidies. This, to prop up atomic reactors that cannot compete with less expensive sources of electricity, including wind power and energy efficiency.

35-year-old Chicago-based watchdog group Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) has led the resistance to the billion dollar boondoggle, as by holding "Alms for Exelon" street theater parodies, as well as educating state legislators' offices. So far, NEIS has successfully staved off the public subsidies.

Exelon's latest money grab in IL comes after its lobbyists' success at winning a split decision from the Washington, D.C. Public Service Commission, approving its takeover of Mid-Atlantic utility Pepco. Exelon can now be expected to gouge not only D.C. ratepayers, but ratepayers throughout Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic, on their electricity bills, further helping to prop up failing Exelon atomic reactors throughout the country.

Public Citizen and DC Solar have appealed the DC PSC ruling; resistance, as by CCAN (Chesapeake Climate Action Network) and the State of Maryland Attorney General and state ratepayer advocate, also goes on in Maryland.

Exelon has made similar subsidy demands in NY, to prop up failing reactors there, as the RTO Insider article reports.

Any such subsidies would be in addition to hundreds of billions of dollars of public (ratepayer and taxpayer) subsidies the nuclear power industry has already enjoyed, over the past half-century, as reported by Union of Concerned Scientists in 2011.