Wall Street Journal Nov. 20th:

The Pilgrim Nuclear Plant in MA is currently under contract for sale to Energy Nuclear Company for a mere $80 million. The plant has a $650 million dollar book value. For comparision purposes, the article goes on to say that a typical coal fired plant usually demands 1 and 1/2 times it's book value in a sale. Furthermore, Three-Mile Island in PA went under contract last month for $100 million. The article mentions that there are 42 Nuclear Utilities and 105 reactors in the U.S. Furthermore, 30 untilites are expected to be interested in selling their plants in the next few years.

On a different note: Maine Yankee, Oyster Creek, Millstone 1 and Zion 1 & 2 are all being retired.

Obviously,the current owners realize it is futile to attempt Y2K compliance; why else dump these plants for such a pittance. Heck, Pilgrim sits on 1,600 acres of Cape Cod Ocean Front; not bad for $50,000 an acre even without the Nuclear Plant.

After reading the Reliability Assessment 1989-2007 by NERC, I find it hard to believe we could maintain an adequate supply of electricity with the loss of so many major facilities.

-- Anonymous, November 24, 1998

Answers

If I had one I'd sure want to sell it before I had to shut it down. Even without any Y2K problems, I've read that decommissioning a nuclear power plant now costs more than it did to build it. And you're still stuck with the fuel rods that nobody wants in their backyard.

-- Anonymous, November 24, 1998

Actually, Meg, the above sales don't have anything to do with Y2k, I don't think even as a peripheral issue. The plants are being sold and/or retired for a variety of reasons, the most important being deregulation and competition.

Many of the electric companies who own power plants of all types are getting out of the generation business, and becoming "transmission" companies only. GPU sold their operating interest in TMI to PECO Energy; GPU is selling off all of their generation assets (or retiring, as is the case with Oyster Creek). Power generation is simply not a money maker for traditional power companies. Margins are too low and costs (human resources and plant maintenance) are simply too high. To me, this is a shortsighted view, but consider that very few companies, not just power companies, look beyond the next 10Q filing anymore.

The other plants in your list above are old plants - 1st generation nuclear plants that are at or near the end of their licensed life and for which the electric companies have not sought license extensions for pure economic reasons (it would cost too much to upgrade the plants).

-- Anonymous, November 24, 1998

Nukies are being dumped all over the place by utilities who have discovered that it is too darned expensive to maintain them. Detroit Edison recently retired Fermi II in Monroe, MI due to the escalating costs of solving it's safety issues. It had been taken off-line by federal regulators several times for safety and environmental reasons and,since it wasn't allowed to produce any appreciable power during the repairs (50% max at one time), Edison finally pulled it's plug to keep it from draining the company coffers dry. (Actully, we're all breathing a little easier knowing that we aren't breeding another Three Mile Island alongside the Detroit River.) Hope this helped Keith

-- Anonymous, November 24, 1998