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Deal to save upstate nuclear plants
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Posted: Monday, March 6, 2017 9:19 pm | Updated: 10:16 pm,
Mon Mar 6, 2017.
By BENJAMIN KAIL [email protected] | 0 comments
ALBANY — Downstate lawmakers and advocacy
groups clashed with upstate officials and nuclear power
supporters in Albany Monday as the state’s approved
Clean Energy Standard came under heightened
scrutiny. Photo provided by Assemblyman Barclay's Office
The Clean Energy Standard paving the way to keep upstate
nuclear plants afloat came under fire in Albany on Monday, with
a host of local officials debating with downstate lawmakers and
The plan to subsidize upstate nuclear plants to the tune
of $7.6 billion over the next dozen years met sharp
criticism in a special public hearing, with several state
Assembly members and environmental groups labeling
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call for ratepayer­funded zero­
emission credits to Exelon an overreach of power
approved without transparency or consideration of
alternatives.
activists over billions of dollars in approved subsidies.
“Taxation without representation is tyranny,” said
Assemblyman Steve Englebright, D­Setauket, chair of
the Committee on Environmental Conservation. “My
ratepayers will receive neither the real property taxes
nor high paying jobs, but they will receive the bill” for
the CES and its subsidies.
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Several people said they hoped to “hit the pause
button” on the CES and stall the subsidies for a more
thorough review by lawmakers, whose constituents
starting in April will pay an estimated $2 extra per
month on utility bills funding the zero­emission credits.
The CES is part of Cuomo’s plan to produce half the
state’s electricity with renewable energy by 2030 while
slashing carbon emissions by 40 percent. Proponents
say the goals are impossible to reach without nuclear
power bridging the gap before renewable sources and
better transmission infrastructure are firmly in place.
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Cuomo said last summer after the CES’s approval that for too long upstate had gotten “the short end of the stick,”
whereas the clean energy policy would help the planet while saving hundreds of jobs.
Homes
The sharp criticism of the plan came just three days after Scriba’s James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant —
expecting to remain open because of the subsidies — announced it had received final regulatory approval to
remain licensed under new ownership by Exelon. OSWEGO WEST side, 1 BDRM lower
Apt, w/ appl. O/S
Oswego County officials, nuclear stakeholders and the state Public Service Commission (PSC) vehemently
refuted the critiques, highlighting more than 20 public town halls across the state giving locals and lawmakers
chances to weigh in on the plan last year.
Scriba Town Attorney Kevin Caraccioli noted “There is a significant public record. Anyone that wanted to get
involved in this process had ample opportunity to do that.”
Caraccioli described the discussion as “emblematic of a decades­old debate, the downstate­upstate debate,”
and he labeled anti­nuclear environmentalists’ suggestions that upstate plants were “ticking time bombs” nothing
more than “silly statements based on arrogance and ignorance.”
The process was “not secret,” the PSC tweeted in response to allegations made by several lawmakers and
witnesses during the hearing. The agency noted it received 13,000­plus comments on the CES over the course
of a year.
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Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, D­Bronx, chair of the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions,
frequently lamented the PSC’s absence from the hearing.
In a statement, the PSC countered that “unlike the 24 public hearings” on the CES, “the Assembly only informed
us of this hearing late last week and so we were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.”
The PSC submitted written testimony explaining the “state’s course of action and the widespread support for the
Clean Energy Standard,” the commission said in its statement.
Caraccioli, Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow, Assemblymen Will Barclay, R­Pulaski, and Robert Oakes, R­Macedon,
and a host of union, school district and Exelon officials argued substantial data showed premature closure of the
region’s four nuclear plants would lead to increased emissions and higher energy costs for all New Yorkers.
Barclay cited plant closures in Vermont, California and Germany leading to harsh economic and environmental
outcomes. The assemblyman called it "disingenuous" that groups speaking out against the CES seemed to
ignore that renewable energy credits were costlier, yet only the zero­emission credits to nuclear were getting
pushback. In an interview after the hearing, Barclay said the many locals testifying “makes a difference” in the fight to
preserve the plants.
“Statewide, we’ve got to dig in and tell them why nuclear is important, not just for central New York but for the
whole state,” he said, adding he remained confident that stakeholders could make a convincing case that
premature closures are more costly in the long run.
Barclay added the governor could veto any legislative attempts to block the CES if such proposals gained
traction.
“We have a pretty diverse group of supporters on this,” he noted, citing a cross­section of labor and business
groups, as well as leaders in Westchester County and even some in Long Island.
In mid­February, state Sen. Tony Avella, D­Bayside, proposed legislation calling on the PSC to repeal any rate
increases for downstate consumers that benefited upstate nuclear plants.
On the heels of Avella’s bill, lawmakers and multiple environmental groups lashed out Monday at what they
perceived as inadequate review of budgetary, safety and climate impacts of the subsidies.
“If there was a discussion of a personal income tax increase [of $7.6 billion], the lid would be blowing off this
place,” testified former assembly member Richard Brodsky. “You can make the case for a tax increase but a lot of
that depends on what you use the money for. In this case, the decision to keep ancient, decrepit and
unnecessary nuclear plants in service is hard to justify.”
Similarly, Jessica Azulay of Alliance for a Green Economy, called for nuclear plant closure notices to set in
motion climate and reliability studies, followed by an open bidding process for alternative energy sources to fill
the void of potentially lost megawatts.
“There’s no guarantee nuclear would win,” she told lawmakers.
If no alternatives could be found, “some subsidies” to nuclear could be appropriate until alternative renewable
sources are fully ready, she said, calling such a plan a “more responsible approach” than an almost $8 billion
“bailout” to the industry.
Twitter
Azulay added that while there were several public hearings on the CES, the sessions were held before it
ballooned to its current costs.
Responding to concerns over whether the subsidies would simply profit Exelon, proponents of the CES and
company representatives repeatedly said that if transmission lines improve and if energy prices stabilize, the
zero­emission credits could decrease in cost or no longer be necessary at all. Tweets by @OswegoCoNewsNow
Oswego Co News Now Retweeted
Ben Kail @BenKail
Entergy, 18 months after announcing FitzPatrick would shutter due to projected losses, will close on a $110 deal
that will see Exelon take over the plant officially at the end of the month.
Early look at tomorrow's front page (w/edit marks) @OswegoCoNewsNow Refueling efforts, completed in February, only happened because the CES was approved with the zero­emission
credits last year.
#Oswego #FoodTrucks #CES #ZEC #FitzPatrick
#FreezingCode
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission backed the license transfer from Entergy to Exelon just last week.
Responding to some of the concerns about plant safety, Adam King, a radiation protection supervisor at
FitzPatrick, made an impassioned plea for lawmakers to consider the impact premature closure would have on
the upstate communities.
He said he takes the plant’s safety into consideration “every time I kiss my 4­year­old goodnight.”
“I do not live in another community,” he said. “[The plants] are safe. If they were not safe, I would not leave my
family there.”
The marathon hearing included dozens of witnesses heard by the state Assembly’s committees on Corporations,
Authorities and Commissions; Consumer Affairs and Protection; Energy; and Environmental Conservation.
While Dinowitz adjourned the meeting, he said the committees still want to hear directly from the PSC in the near
future.
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Posted in News on Monday, March 6, 2017 9:19 pm. Updated: 10:16 pm. | Tags: Upstate New York, Cuomo, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Energy, Transmission Infrastructure, Richard Brodsky, Germany, Vermont, Entergy, Scriba Town, James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant, Oswego County, Alliance For A Green Economy, Westchester County, Jessica Azulay, Albany, New York, Exelon, Steve Englebright, Kevin Caraccioli, Billy Barlow, View on Twitter
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