Junk Plants Millstone and Dominion Corp Are "On The Ropes"

The rats are all jumping ship? The carnage to the rest of the nuke plants has just begun !!! I see the funding struggles already with all the recent equipment problems and plant accidents(the duel plant trip and serial special inspections on the failures of the turbine driven aux feed pump).

It is not uncommon with a NRC region to get overwhelmed with troubled plants. Especially with one really bad outlier plant. All the NRC resources get sucked into a Pilgrim like plant. A seemly good plant declines shocking quickly unseen by the NRC. Then the good plant has a very bad accident with the NRC distracted by the troubled plants.    

Millstone Wants Access to Bigger Markets for its Electricity 

Stephen Singer Contact Reporter

The owner of Millstone Nuclear Power Station, struggling with competition from cheap and abundant natural gas, is seeking state help from lawmakers who may be eager to protect one of Connecticut's biggest businesses.

Dominion, the operator of Millstone in Waterford, is pushing to revive legislation boosting its access to electricity markets. A leading lawmaker said a measure this year could be similar to one that died in 2016.

"I want to do an interdiction," said Rep. Lonnie Reed, the House chairwoman of the Energy and Technology Committee. 

Reed, D-Branford, cited last summer's $220 million state deal with Sikorsky that keeps hundreds of manufacturing jobs at the helicopter maker in Stratford as a reason to support Millstone.

"We're in the middle of showing we're business-friendly," she said.

Kevin Hennessy, a spokesman for Dominion, said legislation would give the Richmond, Va., power company the "opportunity to compete."

Nuclear, coal and oil have been excluded in the past few years from state-authorized purchases of power, Hennessy said. Unlike coal and oil, which are losing favor because of carbon pollution, nuclear is zero-emission, making it an attractive alternative.

For example, replacement energy largely from fossil-fuel fired plants following the retirement of the Vermont Yankee nuclear station in 2014 drove up carbon dioxide emissions by 2.5 percent the following year, reversing a decline over several years, according to ISO New England, the region's power grid operator.

Still, safety concerns at nuclear plants remain high among environmentalists, officials and consumers.

Millstone has a big advantage in the General Assembly. A study commissioned in October by Dominion said Millstone generates $1.47 billion in annual economic impact and employs more than 1,000 workers, making it a "huge player" in southeastern Connecticut, said Tony Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.

And it accounts for 59 percent of the power consumed by Connecticut utility customers, Dominion said.

Legislation has not been drafted, but Reed said it could be similar to a proposal that failed in the final days of the 2016 legislative session. That plan would have allowed nuclear energy to participate in a competitive purchase of renewable or low-carbon electric power in a process administered by the state. If Millstone were to be selected, it would be guaranteed a market as natural gas prices decline.

Why aren't these plants the NEISO? Please explain the selling to the financial institutions? These speculators throw a lot of money around to the politicians. How much money does the ratepayers pay to the commodity. Buddy, the whole system is so rigged including the scumbag news media.    

Currently, power generated by Millstone is sold in contracts to financial institutions such as hedge funds that trade it as a commodity before it reaches the retail customer. Last year's legislation would have "cut out the middleman" and allowed Millstone to sell power to utility customers, Hennessy said.

If enacted, the proposal would provide no subsidy or other direct financial help from taxpayers or ratepayers, he said.

"It wouldn't guarantee anything. It would open up markets we're excluded from," Hennessy said.

Greg Cunningham, director of the clean energy program at the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental group in Boston, said legislation supporting Millstone is premature because officials in New England are still considering proposals such as pricing carbon and establishing a market that gives credit to clean energy. That would force nuclear power to compete with other low-emissions energy.

Connecticut officials should investigate Millstone's finances before backing state assistance, Cunningham said. "I don't think any of us know what the financial condition of the industry is," he said.

Legislation in other states calls for ratepayer subsidies, ends a ban on building nuclear reactors and creates a financing mechanism for investor-owned utilities to recover some costs related to the early closing of a nuclear plant, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Due to market conditions, five nuclear power plants in the U.S. have closed or will be close since 2013 and extending to 2019, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

John Keeley, a spokesman for the group, blamed the low price of natural gas, weak electricity demand that has not fully recovered from before the 2007 start of the recession and improved energy efficiency.

Three nuclear plants operate in New England: Millstone, Pilgrim in Massachusetts and Seabrook in New Hampshire. Nuclear power accounted for 30 percent of energy generated in the region in 2015, down from 34 percent the previous year, ISO said.

The likelihood of new reactors being built decreases with falling natural gas prices, said Kit Konolige, a Bloomberg analyst. In many states, officials "appear more interested in supporting renewable energy than nuclear," he said.

Dominion has not said Millstone will shut down if state assistance is unavailable, Hennessy and Reed said.

"We've simply just talked about how critical Millstone is to Connecticut and the region," Hennessy said.

"They're not threatening, but they're talking about margins and concerns," Reed said.