Hundreds of jobs in Oswego County will be lost. This morning, Entergy announced it will close the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba at the end of 2016 or early 2017. Time Warner Cable News' Iris St. Meran spoke with company leaders to get a better handle as to why.
SCRIBA, N.Y. -- The James FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant has been in this community since 1975. The communications manager said it was a well-run plant.
"FitzPatrick received a renewed operating license a few years back," Jerry Nappi said. "It's been determined it could operate safely for 20 more years in a renewed period. The company has made significant investments in the plant; actually over $200 million in recent years."
That wasn't enough, though, to keep it open. In a statement this morning, Entergy said it had been in talks with the state to reach an agreement to avoid this, but they were unsuccessful. Nappi attributes its eventual closure to natural gas prices dropping significantly.
"Over the past year, wholesale power prices have fallen about $10 a megawatt hour in this area," he said, "which equates to a reduction in revenue for FitzPatrick of about $60 million."
Nappi said the plant will continue to run through its fuel cycle and will close at the end of 2016 or early 2017 with those who are currently employed. Other Entergy plants have closed, and similarly, Nappi said the company will work with employees to find other opportunities.
"Entergy owns several other nuclear power plants around the country," he said. "If that's an option for employees and that's the right fit, it's worked before, and the company has pledged its efforts to try to make it work for whoever's interested."
The company will do analysis of funding and determine what would be required to decommission FitzPatrick over a period of time. Nappi said there's $720 million in a trust fund right now that would go toward decommissioning.