Dominion Energy's Millstone plant 'profitable to 2035'

A report prepared for Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and its Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has found that Dominion Energy's Millstone nuclear power plant is likely to operate profitably from the early 2020s to the mid-2030s, even under harsh market and operating cost assumptions.

A report prepared for Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and its Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has found that Dominion Energy's Millstone nuclear power plant is likely to operate profitably from the early 2020s to the mid-2030s, even under harsh market and operating cost assumptions.

Millstone (Image: Dominion Energy/US Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

Connecticut Governor Dannell Malloy in July directed DEEP and PURA to carry out the assessment of the current and future viability of continued operation at the plant. The two bodies commissioned Boston-based energy management consulting firm Levitan & Associates, Inc (LAI) to evaluate the plant's financial prospects and estimate the effects on Connecticut's electricity ratepayers and its economy as a whole if it were to be retired.

DEEP and PURA have now published LAI's resource assessment and their own draft report, which is open for public comment until 8 January. A final report is to be released by 1 February.

"Under expected market conditions, the present value of Millstone's after-tax cash flows from mid-2021 through mid-2035 is about $2.4 billion. Under lower-than-anticipated natural gas prices, the present value declines to about $1.5 billion. Under low natural gas prices and higher than anticipated Millstone operating costs, the present value declines to $1.3 billion, but remains 'deep-in-the-black'," LAI found.

Dominion Energy said DEEP and PURA's preliminary report was "crystal clear that Millstone is essential for Connecticut to meet its energy, environmental and economic goals". The company said the study correctly set out the consequences the state would face without the plant, including "chronic" reliability issues, failing to meet carbon reduction goals, the loss of substantial jobs and economic benefits, and higher costs for customers.

The report is based on industry assumptions premised on a comparison with nuclear plants very much unlike Millstone in terms of design, operating expenses and the local cost environment, Dominion Energy said. The report "misse[d] the mark" on Millstone’s costs and revenues, but DEEP and PURA "readily acknowledged that error resulted from time constraints", the company noted.

"We provided DEEP and PURA actual confidential financial information about Millstone’s costs and revenues last month. We are committed to working with them so that Millstone's specific information is incorporated in the final report," the company said.

Millstone is the only operating nuclear power plant in the state of Connecticut. Its two pressurised water reactors have a combined capacity of 2088 MWe, and generate about 45% of the state's electricity. In November, Governor Malloy passed Senate Bill 1501 - An Act Concerning Zero Carbon Procurement - which, providing it is shown to be in the best interest of ratepayers, would allow the state's nuclear power plants to enter into a competitive procurement process with other zero carbon energy sources.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News