The US energy utility Exelon is considering shutting down its Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania (United States) by the end of September 2019, in the absence of policy reform; Exelon would like to include nuclear power in the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS).
The 819 MW pressurized water reactor began commercial operation in September 1974. The second similar unit, commissioned in 1978, was stopped after an accident in 1979 and never reopened. Three Mile Island-1 has failed to clear the past three PJM regional capacity auctions and has not be profitable in five years. Consequently, Exelon has decided to terminate capital investment programmes required for the long-term operation of the reactor and to cancel 2019 fuel purchases and outage planning.
In December 2016, Exelon decided to keep its Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear power plants in Illinois (United States) operational for at least another 10 years, as a result of the new Future Energy Jobs Bill adopted by the Illinois governor. The new bill included a guaranteed cap that energy prices can't rise by more than US$25c per month for the average ComEd residential customer and to all business classes at 1.3% compared with their 2015 rates. The company announced the early retirement of the nuclear power plants in June 2016, citing to a lack of progress on the Next Generation Energy Plan legislation to be issued by the state of Illinois and expected to support the plant's continued operation.
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