Nuclear Plant Transfer

In New York, the Public Service Commission (PSC) authorized Exelon Generation Company (ExGen) to transfer ownership and control of the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant to a wholly owned subsidiary, Exelon FitzPatrick, LLC (ExFitz).

The commission found that the transaction would result in neither horizontal nor vertical market power on the part of ExFitz. The commission concurred with ExGen that having ExFitz own and operate the facility would better align the ownership structure of the FitzPatrick plant with that of Exelon’s other nuclear generating assets in New York. The commission likewise agreed that the new arrangement was similar to that used by most merchant generating facilities in the state.

The commission’s decision came shortly after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission declined to rehear its own order from a year ago that had approved Exelon Corporation’s acquisition of the FitzPatrick reactor from Entergy Corporation, which decision largely coincided with the PSC’s order letting the sale proceed. At the time, the New York commission had touted the benefits of retaining nuclear generation in New York’s resource portfolio and had equated nuclear with renewables due to its zero-emission qualities. The commission had deemed the sale to Exelon to be in the public interest given Entergy’s stated intent to shut down the facility in early 2017.

Fearing the loss of FitzPatrick’s 882-megawatt capacity, the commission had lauded the “rescue” plan proffered by Exelon for maintaining operations at the plant. In signing off on the subsequent transfer of the FitzPatrick facility from ExGen to ExFitz, the PSC reiterated its support of continued inclusion of nuclear units in the state’s clean energy resource portfolio. (Case 17-E-0452)