Shock waves are reverberating through the Van Buren County community of Covert and well beyond in the wake of news this morning that Entergy will permanently shutdown the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant there in 2018. In fact, the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy Policy, Aric Nesbitt, who represents the district that includes the plant, is already demanding reconsideration of that plan.
Nesbitt, who is also House Majority Floor Leader in Lansing, called the announcement early today by Entergy, "Not just a punch in the stomach to the hard-working employees and to our community, it also puts Michigan's energy future at greater risk." Nesbitt issued a statement calling on Entergy "to reconsider its decision to prematurely close Palisades and work with the state to find a solution to keep Palisades open and producing reliable, emission-free energy."
Entergy made the announcement this morning, placing the jobs of some 600 people in jeopardy, saying that they and Consumers Energy — Michigan's largest utility and the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy — "have agreed to an early termination of their power purchase agreement for the Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township in 2018."
The utilities say that the result will "lower the costs to Consumers' customers by as much as $172-million over four years."
The agreement to terminate the plan is subject to regulatory approvals. Assuming regulators allow the contract termination, Entergy intends to shut down the Palisades nuclear power plant permanently on October 1, 2018.
The original agreement between Entergy and Consumers Energy had the unit of CMS purchasing virtually all of the power generated by Palisades and was supposed to run through April of 2022. This new, four year early shut down plan, would see Palisades undergo one more refueling as scheduled next spring and then operate through the end of the fuel cycle before permanently shutting down at the beginning of October in 2018.
Nesbitt's statement today added that the announced plan, "further threatens Michigan electric reliability after 2018." He punctuates his anger with the situation by saying, "This is not just a bad decision for our local families, but it is also the wrong decision for Michigan's energy future."
Nesbitt is demanding that Entergy reconsider what he calls a "poorly-made decision," concluding, "This also shows the perilous state of the future of energy in our state and the need to pass a long-term update to our energy laws."
Leo Denault is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Entergy. He says, "Entergy recognizes the consequences of a Palisades shutdown for our approximately 600 employees who have run the plant safely and reliably, and for the surrounding community, and we will work closely with both to provide support during the transition." He adds, "We determined that a shutdown in 2018 is prudent when comparing the transaction to the business risks of continued operation."
Patti Poppe is President & CEO at Consumers Energy. She said this morning, "We have a comprehensive plan to ensure ongoing reliability and affordability for our 1.8-million electric customers." That plan includes continued excellent power plant performance by Consumers Energy, robust waste-reducing energy efficiency programs, and adding more renewable energy and clean natural gas-fired generation to the company's portfolio."
