Entergy recently announced that the two operating nuclear power plants at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, New York, will close in 2020-2021. The early shutdown is part of a settlement under which the state of New York has agreed to drop legal challenges and support renewal of the operating licenses for Indian Point. The shutdown will complete Entergy's exit from its merchant power business because of sustained low wholesale energy prices.
"We thank our nearly 1,000 dedicated employees for operating a world-class nuclear power generating facility at top levels of safety, security and reliability, as well as the community for supporting us," said Leo Denault, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are committed to treating our employees fairly and will help those interested in other opportunities to relocate within the Entergy system."
Under the agreement, Indian Point Unit 2 will shut down by April 30, 2020, and Unit 3 by April 30, 2021. Since purchasing the plants 15 years ago, Entergy has invested more than $1.3 billion in safety and reliability improvements. The plants have powered New York for more than four decades, delivering hundreds of millions of megawatt hours of virtually emissions-free power to the Hudson Valley and New York City safely.
"Key considerations in our decision to shut down Indian Point ahead of schedule include sustained low current and projected wholesale energy prices that have reduced revenues as well as increased operating costs," said Bill Mohl, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities. "In addition, we foresee continuing costs for license renewal beyond the more than $200 million and 10 years we have already invested."
As a result of its agreement to shut down Indian Point Units 2 and 3, Entergy will recognize a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $2.4 billion pre-tax and $1.5 billion after-tax in the fourth quarter of 2016. In addition to the impairment charge, through the end of 2021 Entergy expects to record additional charges totaling approximately $180 million related to severance and employee retention costs.
For more information, visit www.entergy.com.
