Tuesday, July 18, 2017

'Advanced' Grid Hackers Targeting Nuclear Plants

Energywire, by Blake Sobczak, July 7, 2017
and

A sophisticated group of hackers has taken aim at U.S. energy, nuclear and manufacturing firms in recent weeks. Cyberattacks recently breached a dozen or more U.S. power plants, including conventional and nuclear generators. The Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. was among the companies targeted by the hacking campaign. That company, jointly owned by three different energy firms, runs a nuclear power facility near Burlington, Kansas. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. has warned grid operators about an "advanced persistent threat," which is jargon for a well-resourced hacking campaign typically backed by a nation-state. Bloomberg reports that Russia is a chief suspect in the hacking, though some analysts warn attribution is premature. The NERC alert came on the heels of a separate report from the Department of Homeland Security and FBI. That document outlined active hacking threats to the nuclear, electricity and manufacturing industries, among others. Lloyd's of London has estimated the potential impacts of a successful attack on the U.S. power grid, and concluded the total economic loss could range from $243 billion up to $1 trillion in the most damaging scenarios.

EXELON TO RETIRE THREE MILE ISLAND GENERATING STATION IN 2019

Contact:
Paul Adams
Corporate Communications
410-470-4167

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE




EXELON TO RETIRE THREE MILE ISLAND GENERATING STATION IN 2019
Focus is on site employees and community as lack of state and federal energy policies that properly value zero-emissions energy drives decision
CHICAGO (May 30, 2017) — Exelon Corporation today said it will prematurely retire its Three Mile Island Generating Station (TMI) on or about September 30, 2019, absent needed policy reforms. Officials met with employees and informed community leaders, and pledged continued open dialogue as they prepare for this transition.
“Today is a difficult day, not just for the 675 talented men and women who have dedicated themselves to operating Three Mile Island safely and reliably every day, but also for their families, the communities and customers who depend on this plant to produce clean energy and support local jobs,” said Chris Crane, Exelon president and CEO. “Like New York and Illinois before it, the Commonwealth has an opportunity to take a leadership role by implementing a policy solution to preserve its nuclear energy facilities and the clean, reliable energy and good-paying jobs they provide. We are committed to working with all stakeholders to secure Pennsylvania’s energy future, and will do all we can to support the community, the employees and their families during this difficult period.”
Exelon is taking the first steps to shut down the nuclear plant, including:
·         Informing key stakeholders, which will include sending PJM a deactivation notice and making permanent shutdown notifications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission within 30 days;
·         Immediately taking one-time charges of $65-110 million for 2017, and accelerating approximately $1.0-1.1 billion in depreciation and amortization through the announced shutdown date;
·         Terminating capital investment projects required for long-term operation of TMI; and
·         Canceling 2019 fuel purchases and outage planning, impacting about 1,500 outage workers.
Absent policy reforms, the loss of Pennsylvania nuclear plants would increase air pollution, compromise the resiliency of the electric grid, raise energy prices for consumers, eliminate thousands of good-paying local jobs and weaken the state’s economy.
Despite producing 93 percent of the Commonwealth’s emissions-free electricity and avoiding 37 million tons of carbon emissions — the equivalent of keeping 10 million cars off the road every year — nuclear power is not included in the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS). Yet 16 clean power sources including solar, wind and hydro energy are supported by this state energy policy.
Amending the AEPS is one of many potential solutions to preserve Pennsylvania’s nuclear plants. Other options include establishing a zero emissions credit program, similar to the approach being implemented in Illinois and New York. Exelon is committed to working with its stakeholders to find the best solution for Pennsylvania — one that will maintain nuclear energy’s $2 billion annual contribution to the state’s economy and its approximately 16,000 direct and indirect Pennsylvania jobs.
TMI directly employs 675 workers and contracts another 1,500 local union workers for refueling outages. The station provides more than $1 million in state property taxes and more than $300,000 in local community giving each year.

Exelon’s highly trained employees will continue to operate the plant at world-class levels of excellence, with staff transitions expected within six months of the plant’s final shut down. 

EXELON ANNOUNCES OUTCOME OF 2020-2021 PJM CAPACITY AUCTION

Contact:
Paul Adams
Corporate Communications
410-470-4167
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


EXELON ANNOUNCES OUTCOME OF 2020-2021 PJM CAPACITY AUCTION

Three Mile Island nuclear plant among facilities that did not clear in auction, placing it at risk of early retirement

CHICAGO (May 24, 2017) — Exelon Corporation today announced that its Three Mile Island (TMI) and Quad Cities nuclear plants did not clear in the latest PJM capacity auction, highlighting the challenge nuclear energy continues to face without compensation for its ability to produce electricity without harmful carbon and air pollution and to contribute to grid resilience.

TMI did not clear in the past three PJM base residual auctions. TMI remains economically challenged as a result of continued low wholesale power prices and the lack of federal or Pennsylvania energy policies that value zero-emissions nuclear energy. Exelon has been working with stakeholders on options for the continued operation of TMI, which has not been profitable in five years.

States like New York and Illinois have enacted innovative policies that fairly compensate nuclear and renewable energy for their environmental attributes. Signed into law in December, the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) will create significant environmental and consumer benefits in Illinois, while also creating thousands of clean energy jobs and providing job training for the future workforce.

“Exelon remains fully committed to keeping the Quad Cities plant open, provided that FEJA’s Zero Emissions Credit program is implemented as expected and provided that Quad Cities is selected to participate,” said Joe Dominguez, Exelon’s executive vice
president of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy. “However, Quad has not been selected to receive ZECs under the FEJA program to date.”

Exelon’s other nuclear plants in PJM cleared in the auction for the 2020-2021 planning year. Oyster Creek did not participate in the auction, as the plant is scheduled to retire in 2019.

Capacity auctions are held annually by grid operator PJM to ensure enough power generation resources are available to meet demand in its region covering all or part of 13 states and the District of Columbia. This is the fifth delivery year for which capacity auctions have been held under “capacity performance” reforms ordered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to increase power plant reliability and strengthen the region’s energy supply. The reforms were an important step in recognizing nuclear energy for its year-round reliability in all weather extremes. The auction results take effect June 1, 2020.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made by Exelon Corporation and Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Registrants) include those factors discussed herein, as well as the items discussed in (1) Exelon’s 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K in (a) ITEM 1A. Risk Factors, (b) ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and (c) ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data: Note 24, Commitments and Contingencies; (2) Exelon’s First Quarter 2017 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in (a) Part II, Other Information, ITEM 1A. Risk Factors; (b) Part 1, Financial Information, ITEM 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and (c) Part I, Financial Information, ITEM 1. Financial Statements: Note 17; and (3) other factors discussed in filings with the SEC by the Registrants. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release. None of the Registrants undertakes any obligation to publicly release any revision to its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

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Norther Trust Co - Notice of Objection re: Exelon

Subject:  The Northern Trust Company - Notice of Objection to Disbursement from Decommissioning Trusts for Exelon Generation Company, LLC Units (CAC Nos. MF9603-MF9620)


Download: ML17124A115

U.S. Nuclear Capacity and Generation Expected to Decline as Existing Generators Retire:

U.S. Energy Information Administration, May 12, 2017

EIA’s 2017 Annual Energy Outlook Reference case assumes that about 25% of the nuclear capacity now operating that does not have announced retirement plans will be removed from service by 2050. Nearly all nuclear plants now in use began operation between 1970 and 1990. These plants would require a subsequent license renewal before 2050 to operate beyond the 60-year period covered by their original 40-year operating license and the 20-year license extension that nearly 90% of plants currently operating have either already received or have applied for. The AEO2017 Reference case projections do not envision a large amount of new nuclear capacity additions. By 2050, only four reactors currently under construction and some uprates at existing plants are projected to come online.

Three Mile Island Is the Sixth Announced Nuclear Retirement in the Past Seven Years

U.S. Energy Information Administration, June 13, 2017

Currently, 99 nuclear reactors at 60 nuclear power plants operate in the U.S. Since the first commercial U.S. nuclear reactor came online in 1957, more than 30 nuclear reactors have retired. Some of these retired plants were test projects or experimental designs, but most provided commercial power for some portion of their operational lives. Prior to the retirement of the Crystal River, Kewaunee, and San Onofre nuclear power plants in 2013, no nuclear reactor had been retired since 1998. Since 2013, two more plants -Vermont Yankee in 2014 and Nebraska’s Fort Calhoun in 2016 - have retired. In total, the five nuclear plants that retired in the past four years had a combined capacity of nearly 5,000 megawatts. In addition to these recent retirements, six plants are scheduled to retire within the next nine years. Four of these - Palisades, Pilgrim, Oyster Creek, and Three Mile Island - have planned retirement dates more than a decade before their operating licenses expire.

EXELON ANNOUNCES OUTCOME OF 2020-2021 PJM CAPACITY AUCTION

Contact:
Paul Adams
Corporate Communications
410-470-4167
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


EXELON ANNOUNCES OUTCOME OF 2020-2021 PJM CAPACITY AUCTION

Three Mile Island nuclear plant among facilities that did not clear in auction, placing it at risk of early retirement

CHICAGO (May 24, 2017) — Exelon Corporation today announced that its Three Mile Island (TMI) and Quad Cities nuclear plants did not clear in the latest PJM capacity auction, highlighting the challenge nuclear energy continues to face without compensation for its ability to produce electricity without harmful carbon and air pollution and to contribute to grid resilience.

TMI did not clear in the past three PJM base residual auctions. TMI remains economically challenged as a result of continued low wholesale power prices and the lack of federal or Pennsylvania energy policies that value zero-emissions nuclear energy. Exelon has been working with stakeholders on options for the continued operation of TMI, which has not been profitable in five years.

States like New York and Illinois have enacted innovative policies that fairly compensate nuclear and renewable energy for their environmental attributes. Signed into law in December, the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) will create significant environmental and consumer benefits in Illinois, while also creating thousands of clean energy jobs and providing job training for the future workforce.

“Exelon remains fully committed to keeping the Quad Cities plant open, provided that FEJA’s Zero Emissions Credit program is implemented as expected and provided that Quad Cities is selected to participate,” said Joe Dominguez, Exelon’s executive vice
president of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy. “However, Quad has not been selected to receive ZECs under the FEJA program to date.”

Exelon’s other nuclear plants in PJM cleared in the auction for the 2020-2021 planning year. Oyster Creek did not participate in the auction, as the plant is scheduled to retire in 2019.

Capacity auctions are held annually by grid operator PJM to ensure enough power generation resources are available to meet demand in its region covering all or part of 13 states and the District of Columbia. This is the fifth delivery year for which capacity auctions have been held under “capacity performance” reforms ordered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to increase power plant reliability and strengthen the region’s energy supply. The reforms were an important step in recognizing nuclear energy for its year-round reliability in all weather extremes. The auction results take effect June 1, 2020.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made by Exelon Corporation and Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Registrants) include those factors discussed herein, as well as the items discussed in (1) Exelon’s 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K in (a) ITEM 1A. Risk Factors, (b) ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and (c) ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data: Note 24, Commitments and Contingencies; (2) Exelon’s First Quarter 2017 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in (a) Part II, Other Information, ITEM 1A. Risk Factors; (b) Part 1, Financial Information, ITEM 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and (c) Part I, Financial Information, ITEM 1. Financial Statements: Note 17; and (3) other factors discussed in filings with the SEC by the Registrants. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release. None of the Registrants undertakes any obligation to publicly release any revision to its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

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