Owner: Financial Rescue Uncertain, Three Mile Island To Proceed With Closure
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KDKA) -- The owner of Three Mile Island, site of the United States' worst commercial nuclear power accident, says it now appears certain it will not get a financial rescue from Pennsylvania and said it will go ahead with a planned shutdown starting June 1.
Exelon Corp.'s Wednesday statement comes two years after the Chicago-based energy giant said it would close the money-losing plant without what critics have called a bailout.
It's licensed to operate through 2034.
A roughly $500 million package for Three Mile Island and Pennsylvania's four other nuclear power plants has stalled in the Legislature. Exelon has won rescues in three other states, but in Pennsylvania it faced opposition from the state's natural gas industry.
Gov. Tom Wolf released this statement:
"I was disappointed to learn this morning's unfortunate news and continue to stand today with the workers at Three Mile Island and the surrounding community. I have directed the Department of Labor and Industry to immediately begin plans to engage with these workers about their futures, and a Rapid Response team is in the process of being deployed. They are skilled workers who are in-demand in the economy. While I understand the operator is working to offer internal positions to these workers, we will not spare our resources to provide assistance to those who will be impacted.
"I still believe it is essential to continue this important conversation about preserving and growing Pennsylvania's carbon-free energy footprint. I remain hopeful that a consensus on a path forward can be reached in the coming weeks."
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Three Mile Island faces particularly difficult economics because the 1979 accident left it with just one reactor.
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