The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday authorized Entergy Corp. to buy the 980 Mw Indian Point Unit 3 nuclear plant, Buchanan, NY, and the 825 Mw James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant, Oswego, NY, from the New York Power Authority (NYPA).
The deal still requires the blessing of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Entergy spokesman Carl Crawford said the company hopes to receive the agencies' approval by mid-October and to close the deal in November.
NPYA agreed in March to sell the plants to Entergy for $967 million, upping its bid from $806 million. Entergy also agreed to sell 100% of the Indian Point unit's output to NYPA through 2004. It also committed to sell 100% of the FitzPatrick plant's capacity to NYPA through 2003, and a defined amount through 2004. The company said it will establish a regional headquarters in New York.
The acquisition is part of the company's strategy to become a player in the US Northeast. In a speech earlier this month to the Business Council of New York state, Mike Kansler, chief operating officer, Entergy Nuclear Northeast chief operating officer, noted nuclear will provide much needed diversity in "a market already driven excessively by the volatile prices of fuel oil, natural gas and gasoline."
He said nuclear power will be a stabilizing factor in the deregulating power market of New York helping to hold down utility bills which climbed as much as 30% this summer.
Entergy's nuclear businesses encompass five power reactors at four locations in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Entergy also purchased the Pilgrim Station, Plymouth, Mass., in 1999, the first nuclear plant sale in a competitive bidding process.
The company is considered a potential leading bidder for Indian Point Unit 2, when it is auctioned by Consolidated Edison Co. of New York. Entergy is also managing decommissioning activities at Maine Yankee, Wiscasset, Me., and Millstone Unit 1, Waterford, Conn.
