FirstEnergy Solutions failure appears inevitable says FE CEO

As reported by John Funk in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The article reports:

Moody's has lowered the subsidiary's rating from below investment grade to likely to default.

At that point of a Chapter 11 filing, the fate of the company's power plants, including Perry nuclear plant in Lake County east of Cleveland and Davis-Besse in Ottawa County near Toledo will most likely be up to a federal bankruptcy judge.

A major decision on the fate of Ohio's atomic reactors is expected in early April. Shutdown, sale, or taking them private seem the most likely outcomes.

Beyond Nuclear has long called for Davis-Besse's permanent shutdown, as a vital safety matter. We helped lead a binational environmental coalition, represented by Toledo attorney Terry Lodge, which sought to block the 2017 to 2037 license extension. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rubber-stamped the license extension anyway, despite our best efforts.

In recent weeks, Beyond Nuclear published an op-ed in the Toledo Blade, and a letter to the editor in the Columbus Dispatch, pointing out the safety imperative of closing Davis-Besse ASAP.

And in recent days, Beyond Nuclear joined with Michigan and Ohio colleagues, to call attention to multiple problems at the Perry atomic reactor as well.