Abandoning an Independent Cost Assessment in Illinois

摘要

An independent report commissioned last year by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on the fnances of reactors in the state that operator Exelon claims are uneconomic is the most recent, and perhaps exemplary, public state model of how to evaluate such claims. The report made the case for a lower level of subsidies to keep the plants proftable, a fnding Exelon disputed. Although Pritzker initially supported more modest nuclear subsidies, based on the report’s fndings, he more recently caved to Exelon’s greater demands, doubling the subsidy proposal to $700 million. This experience may prove relevant as congressional lawmakers advance infrastructure legislation that includes a nuclear subsidy program for uneconomic reactors (p3).