Is Oyster Creek Nuke Plant Shutdown Imminent?

Oyster Creek Fails to Clear PJM Capacity Auction

The Oyster Creek nuclear power plant has failed to clear the most recent power capacity auction conducted by the PJM grid.

According to plant owner Exelon:

Exelon says nuclear units located in PJM did not clear auction

Exelon disclosed in a regulatory filing that, on May 23, the company learned the results of the most recent PJM capacity auction, which covers the generating year from June 1, 2017, to May 31, 2018. Three Exelon Generation Company nuclear units located in PJM – Byron and Quad Cities in Illinois and Oyster Creek in New Jersey – did not clear the auction, the company stated.

That means the plant will not be able to sell power into the PJM grid in June 2017 on a regular basis.

That is huge news, and suggests that the plant may not be economically viable and the plant’s shutdown might be imminent.

Why is there no reporting of this news in NJ media? Did I miss the story?

What about the BL England Plant – did that plant clear the PJM capacity auction?

Readers want to know.

Keep in mind that the backers of the Pinelands pipeline and the Christie Administration have implied that the lights might go out in South Jersey if these plants did not remain on line.

Of course, that scare tactic is non-sense, but the issues deserve coverage.

A recent Atlantic City Press story, written before the recent PJM capacity auction, dispelled those myths pretty well, but that storyline has not been updated in light of recent events.