Dive Brief:

• Entergy is pointing fingers at the New England electricity market for contributing to its decision to close the 620-megawatt Vermont Yankee nuclear plant next year.
• Pressure from less-expensive natural gas-fired generation has pushed the price of power produced by the plant down from $90 or $100 per megawatt-hour to less than $40.
• “Their market design is flawed because it doesn’t take a long-term look at the portfolio of assets,” said Bill Mohl, president of wholesale electricity sales at Entergy. That portfolio should provide long-term grid reliability and environmental and economic sustainability, he said—all benefits that nuclear power provides.

Dive Insight: 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently held a technical conference to look at how electric generating capacity is being valued. Since FERC oversees wholesale electricity markets, it could take steps to address the concerns of Entergy and other nuclear plant owners.