CONSULTING

subsidies already. First, Illinois electricity ratepayers paid all of the construction costs for the
Illinois nuclear plants. Illinois consumers then paid again when Exelon and others convinced
Illinois lawmakers to create a competitive market for electricity and consumers were charged for
additional costs associated with the transition to a deregulated supply market. Exelon’s current
bailout demand would amount to a third round of subsidies for these plants”. 444 Thus far, Exelon
has been denied the further subsidies it is seeking from Illinois. One of the ironies involved is that
while on the one hand, Exelon has been seeking subsidies from the government and the rate
payers, on the other hand, it has been presenting itself as profitable to Wall Street companies. 445
One state where the legislative approach seems to have nearly worked is Connecticut, where
Dominion Energy instigated a special hearing by the state legislature’s Energy and Technology
Committee. 446 At the hearing, officials from Dominion, as well as former Indiana Senator Evan
Bayh, who has now become an active advocate for nuclear energy (partly through his position as
the co-chairman of the nuclear lobby group Nuclear Matters), informed listeners that “the
company’s Millstone plant faces financial challenges and urged the state to consider measures to
help avoid additional nuclear unit retirements”. 447 As a result, the Connecticut Senate passed
legislation that changed the market structure in the state and would protect Dominion’s Millstone
plant. The legislation was widely criticized because it did not go through a public hearing, nor was
it available for review until shortly before debate. 448 However, the bill never came to the vote in
Connecticut's House of Representatives. 449 The nature of the Connecticut legislation was
highlighted by the state’s Consumer Counsel Elin Katz, who represents utility customers in the
state, who noted that “in a deregulated market, the industry retains the benefits of the upswings
and the risks of market downturns. If Connecticut consumers are going to be asked to backstop
some of that risk, there should be a corresponding consideration of shared benefits”. 450
In October 2015, Entergy Corporation announced that it would close down the Pilgrim nuclear
plant in Massachusetts because the 43-year-old plant was “simply no longer financially viable”
and that it had already informed ISO New England, the regional transmission organization that
444 Rich Miller, “Environmental group rails at AG Madigan, environmentalists”, Capitol Fax, 10 June 2016,
see http://capitolfax.com/2016/06/10/environmental-group-rails-at-ag-madigan-environmentalists/, accessed
16 June 2016.
445 Steve Daniels, “Exelon tells Wall St. one thing about profits while peddling a different tale in
Springfield”, Crain’s Chicago Business, 30 April 2016, see
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160430/ISSUE01/304309995/exelon-tells-wall-st-one-thing-aboutprofits-while-peddling-a-different-tale-in-springfield,
accessed 16 June 2016.
446 Mark Pazniokas, “Nuclear power’s future in Connecticut is on the table”, The CT Mirror, 23 March 2016,
see http://ctmirror.org/2016/03/23/nuclear-powers-future-in-connecticut-is-on-the-table/, accessed
16 June 2016.
447 NW, “Dominion urges Connecticut to support Millstone”,Platts, Volume 57, Number 13, 31 March 2016
448 Mark Pazniokas, “CT Senate passes bill to stabilize revenues in nuclear industry”, The CT Mirror,
30 April 2016, see http://ctmirror.org/2016/04/30/ct-senate-passes-bill-to-stabilize-revenues-in-nuclearindustry/,
accessed 16 June 2016.
449 Judy Benson, “Bill that would have protected Millstone from energy market dips dies in House”,
The Day, 5 May 2016, see http://www.theday.com/article/20160505/NWS01/160509539, accessed
16 June 2016.
450 Housley Carr, “Dominion Urges Connecticut to Support Millstone”, NW, Volume 57—Number 13,
31 March 2016.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 132 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016