Owner of 3 nuclear plants seeks emergency U.S. aid

A subsidiary of the Ohiobased utility firm FirstEnergy announced plans Wednesday to shut down three nuclear plants, which collectively produce a steady stream of 4 billion watts of electricity.

The company, FirstEnergy Solutions, cited “market challenges” to the plants, which are being undercut by cheap natural gas and a growing wave of renewable energy installations, according to the nuclear energy industry.

But the company then filed an emergency request with the Energy Department that asks for help to keep the plants open, as well as a number of its coal plants.

The move reignited debate over previous attempts by Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s department to subsidize struggling coal and nuclear plants on the grounds that they provide crucial security and stability to the electric grid.

FirstEnergy Solutions appears to be seeking a similar result through other means, arguing in its request that due to the emergency that plant failures could pose, Perry should order grid operators to “promptly compensate at-risk merchant nuclear and coalfired power plants for the full benefits they provide to energy markets and the public at large, including fuel security and diversity.”

Environmental groups reacted strongly to FirstEnergy’s effort. The Sierra Club called it “clearly illegal,” because the Federal Power Act, under which the request was filed, is reserved for situations of emergency.

FirstEnergy “is desperate to pad its bottom line at the expense of its customers,” said John Moore, director of the Sustainable Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The natural gas industry — which is largely responsible for the economic challenges that nuclear plants are facing — was also dismissive of the request.

“Competitive markets have a long track record of delivering affordable power to customers,” Dena Wiggins, chief executive of the Natural Gas Supply Association, said in a statement. “It would be counterproductive and send the wrong signal to the market for [the Energy Department] to grant this request.”

FirstEnergy Solutions generates electricity in parts of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.