Nation’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant Operator Seeks State Subsidies…
The nation’s largest nuclear power plant operator, Exelon Corp., is strong-arming state legislators in its home state of Illinois. The utility is unreasonably demanding “taxpayer bailouts,” state subsidies, and new regulatory restrictions on its lower-cost electricity generating competitors. If these shrill ultimatums are not met, Exelon threatens to shutter three of its six nuclear power plants in Illinois.
Since the utility has business activities in 47 U.S. states, and the District of Columbia and Canada, analysts expect this shakedown to be a preview of the company’s new business strategy across the U.S.
As America’s largest competitive power generator with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity, Exelon posted a $2 billion profit on revenues of more than $24 billion in 2014. So CEO Christopher M. Crane is hardly hurting for expansion capital. This is the kind of a strategy one would expect from a purely rent-seeking activity, like solar power, rather than the established nuclear energy industry.
