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PSEG Will Retire Two New Jersey Coal Power Plants

October 11, 2016

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) will close the 620-MW Hudson Generation Station in Jersey City, N.J., and the 632-MW Mercer Generation Station in Hamilton Township, N.J., on June 1, 2017.

“The sustained low prices of natural gas have put economic pressure on these plants for some time. In that context, we could not justify the significant investment required to upgrade these plants to meet the new reliability standards,” Bill Levis, president and COO of PSEG Power, said in a statement released on October 5. “The plants have been infrequently called on to run and neither plant cleared the last two PJM capacity auctions. The plants’ capacity payments have been critical to their profitability and PSEG’s ability to continue to invest in modernizing them.”

PSEG said it is committed to working with union representatives to limit the impact of the closures on the 200 affected employees, roughly split between the two facilities.

“These plants have played a critical role in powering the growth and economic expansion of New Jersey and PSEG is grateful to our employees who have played a part in building and running them for the past 50 years,” said Levis.…

AEP to Shed Ohio, Indiana Coal and Gas Plants in Move for Full Regulation

September 20, 2016

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In an effort to become a fully regulated power company, American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to sell four Midwestern power plants—representing a total of 5.2 GW—to a newly formed joint venture of Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners for about $ 2.17 billion.

AEP will sell:

the 1,186-MW natural gas–fired Lawrenceburg Generating Station in Lawrenceburg, Ind.
the 840-MW natural gas–fired Waterford Energy Center in Waterford, Ohio
the 507-MW natural gas–fired Darby Generating Station in Mount Sterling, Ohio
the 2,665-MW coal-fired Gen. James M. Gavin Plant in Cheshire, Ohio

All generating capacity is located in the region served by PJM Interconnection.

The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, but it is subject to regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and federal clearance pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, AEP said.

Moving on Out

Efforts to formalize a power purchase agreement that would have supported continued operation of AEP and FirstEnergy generation capacity in Ohio were punctured by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 27, though the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) had blessed the deal just a month before.…

WEC Inks Deal for Gas Plants to Replace Presque Isle

August 21, 2016

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WEC Energy Group, parent company of We Energies, signed a deal with mining firm Cliffs Natural Resources that will support two natural gas engine plants in the Upper Peninsula (UP) region of Michigan and replace power currently supplied by the coal-fired Presque Isle Power Plant, due to retire in 2020 (Figure 1).

The 365-MW Presque Isle coal plant will be replaced by a pair of natural gas engine plants under an agreement announced on Aug. 15. Courtesy: We Energies

The deal has been in the works for several years, and grows out of discussions with the Michigan state government on future electric supplies for the UP, which themselves grew out of Wisconsin Energy’s acquisition of Integrys Energy Group (WEC was formed out of that acquisition).

Last year, We Energies and the state settled on a series of agreements to change rate structures in the UP while Cliffs agreed to purchase power from Presque Isle until its retirement. The deal on Aug.…

Exelon Makes Good on Threat—Quad Cities and Clinton Nuclear Plants to Close

June 3, 2016

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Given the lack of progress on Illinois energy legislation, Exelon Corp. announced on June 2 that it would begin taking steps to permanently shut down its Quad Cities and Clinton nuclear power plants.

In a statement, the company said Clinton would close on June 1, 2017, and that Quad Cities would follow exactly one year later. The two facilities have long been rumored to be on the chopping block due to economic struggles.

“This is an extremely difficult day for the 1,500 employees who operate these plants safely and reliably every day, and the communities that depend on them for support,” said Chris Crane, Exelon president and CEO. “We have worked for several years to find a sustainable path forward in consultation with federal regulators, market operators, state policymakers, plant community leaders, labor and business leaders, as well as environmental groups and other stakeholders. Unfortunately, legislation was not passed, and now we are forced to retire the plants.”

The two stations are said to have lost a combined $ 800 million during the past seven years, despite being two of Exelon’s best-performing plants.…