Perry, Davis-Besse nuke plants dismantling could take 60 years

CLEVELAND — FirstEnergy Solutions says it wants to delay dismantling its four nuclear power plants – including Perry and Davis-Besse – for 60 years.The company a year ago told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission it would close its four nuclear plants by the end of 2021, starting with Davis-Besse in May 2020 and Perry in May 2021.It apparently still plans to do that if it cannot obtain a state or federal subsidy.Documents just released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission show that FES has filed a 60-year nuclear reactor decommissioning plan -- the maximum amount of time allowed by law.That means the plants would be dead, but off-limits to any other development until about 2082.And by that time, the company – if it survives – would have spent a projected $1.1 billion at Perry alone. The projected cost of decommissioning and clean-up at Davis-Besse, near Toledo, is also a little over $1 billion.The long delay in decommissioning, called SAFSTOR by the NRC, allows for years of "dormancy" during which time the most expensive charges are for security.The plan would delay dismantling the most radioactive parts of each of its four reactors for about 50 years in order to give decommissioning funds ample time to grow. The plan assumes the conservatively managed funds would grow at 2 percent per year. The company would then spend the final 10 years dismantling the reactor itself and parts closest to it.Winning NRC approval of the decommissioning plans is one of three fronts on which FES is battling as the first anniversary of its bankruptcy filing approaches this weekend. The company also is talking to state lawmakers about a bailout for its nuclear plants. And it's defending its restructuring plan in court to continue operating as a creditor-owned company when it emerges from bankruptcy.Here's how the Perry shutdown bill adds up:• The decommissioning fund balance for Perry contained $541.9 million as of Jan. 31.When FES closes Perry in May 2021, it is projecting that the fund would stand at $563.8 million.• Initial deconstruction of non-radioactive facilities would cost $46.9 million in 2021 and $99.9 million in 2022.In the following three years, annual expenditures would be kept at about $8.5 million, and by 2027 would fall to about $5 million a year through 2060 when the fund balance is projected to have grown to nearly $600 million.But what if FES doesn't make it as a business after emerging from bankruptcy later this year? Or can't even successfully get out of bankruptcy because its agreement with major creditors falls apart?That's at the heart of the battle the company is waging right now before bankruptcy Judge Alan Koschik in Akron.State and federal agencies and environmental and consumer groups want FES's parent, FirstEnergy Corp., to remain responsible for cleanup costs. FE insists it is no longer responsible because of a deal it cut with FES -- in full view of creditors -- and approved last fall by the court. A hearing is set for Tuesday.Koschik earlier this month said he wasn't buying the conclusion that FE would have no future responsibility despite his approval of the settlement in which FE agreed to pay FES nearly $1 billion in cash and services to separate the two companies. And FE, despite its public announcements, continues to include language in its SEC filings saying it ultimately might be held responsible.One of the national environmental groups, the Midwest-based Environmental Law and Policy Center, took its opposition directly to the NRC a year ago.FES also is preparing a campaign to persuade lawmakers it must have a customer-paid bailout to keep the power plants running.Earlier this week the company's top lobbyist, David Griffing, told an Ohio House subcommittee the wholesale electric markets are "flawed" because they focus on the least expensive sources of power in the short term. While that's been good for consumers, he acknowledged, it means that many nuclear plants cannot recover all of their costs.FE has sought bailout legislation twice in the last two years that would have raised residential bills by about $5 a month for years. Opponents said the total cost of the "nuclear surcharges" would have been as much as $300 million per year for up to 16 years. Those proposals died in House and Senate committees.A new bailout plan is being written and could be unveiled as early as next week. Opponents are already organizing.Griffing had no details, but he told the House subcommittee that the company needs legislation approved by mid-year because it must decide whether to order fuel rod assemblies for a regularly-scheduled two-year refueling of Davis-Besse next year. Without that refueling, Davis-Besse would shut down in May 2020 as scheduled."We are looking at some time in June ... to make that [fuel order] decision. That is why time is of the essence," he said.Griffing said the company's creditors -- who would own the company if the bankruptcy court approves a proposed arrangement -- have agreed to continue to own and operate the FES reactors."We want to continue to be an independent power producer that has nuclear and fossil [coal] and retail assets [customer contracts] in the state of Ohio," Griffing said.He said however that without additional funding the company cannot guarantee the continued operation of the plants beyond the decommissioning dates it gave the NRC.———©2019 The Plain Dealer, ClevelandVisit The Plain Dealer, Cleveland at www.cleveland.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.