POWER ON: The former Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township is being eyed for up to 4 small-modular reactors by its parent company, Holtec International, in the future. (File Photo by Jack Reynolds)
A New Jersey congressman with the largest district in the state said nuclear energy should be part of a multi-faceted response to the nation’s energy crisis as questions about offshore development continue and double-digit electricity rate hikes loom for nearly half of the state’s ratepayers this summer.
“Nuclear is 40% of the energy supplied in the state of New Jersey. You could almost do 100%. They are ready for another reactor at PSEG in Salem County,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew said March 13. “New modular reactors are really safe, really cost-efficient and can be done rapidly if we make that our focus.”
On March 15, Patrick Burke, director of government affairs and communications for Holtec International, the Camden-based energy giant and parent company of the decommissioning Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township, reiterated that site “would be a great location for development of our SMR-300 and we are considering future deployment of up to four at the site.”
Oyster Creek was once the nation’s oldest operating nuclear power plant. In February 2018, the former owner, Exelon Corp., announced plans to permanently shut down Oyster Creek more than 14 months before a December 2019 deadline agreed to with the state. Doing so negated the state’s calls for retrofitting the plant with cooling towers at the Route 9 site. It ceased permanent operations in September 2018, and the NRC approved the license transfer to Oyster Creek Environmental Protection, another subsidiary of Holtec International, and HDI in June 2019.
Burke said repowering the Oyster Creek site on Route 9 site wouldn’t happen until after the company builds two SMR-300s at the former site of Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan. That plant was shuttered in May 2022. The anticipated operational target date for Palisades is the fourth quarter of 2030 or early 2031.
Michigan is one of three states recently targeted by the Ontario government for a 25% tariff on electricity, which was in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. Trump temporarily waived tariffs on Canadian products and Ontario Premier Doug Ford withdrew his call on additional fees for electricity to 1.5 million ratepayers in parts of Michigan, Minnesota and New York. Reciprocal tariffs on all countries are expected to begin April 2.
“One of the many reasons I was against the wind turbines was because we were putting billions – not millions, billions – of dollars, just in New Jersey, of your tax dollars into subsidizing foreign corporations that don’t give a damn about the United States to build technology that wouldn’t even supply us with all our energy and would greatly increase rates for the ratepayer,” Van Drew said.
His comments stem from a tele-town hall his office released March 13 in which he addressed electricity rates, tariffs, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
“This is a huge issue for so many families in New Jersey right now,” Van Drew said of escalating electricity costs. “We knew this was going to come, and you know what makes me sick to my stomach is that the BPU (N.J. Board of Public Utilities) should have known it was coming, too.”
Last month, Christine Guhl-Sadovy, BPU president, blamed a recent PJM capacity auction for the new user rate increase. Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey Rate Council, faulted PJM for failing to correct the market capacity, saying the last auction saw its highest price in history.
The basic generation service auction, in part, sets the cost of electricity for most state residents and businesses beginning June 1 for a one-year period. The BPU’s only jurisdiction over the auction is certifying the results, ensuring they are consistent with market trends, according to the state agency.
As a result, the average monthly bills are estimated to increase by 17.23% for Atlantic City Electric, 20.20% for JCP&L, 17.74%; for PSEG and 18.18% for RECO customers.
The four companies “do not earn a profit on the cost of the electric supply secured in the auctions,” according to the BPU. “These costs are passed through directly to ratepayers.”
Prior to the PJM capacity auction, the BPU had its first meeting to discuss a proposed rate hike application by Atlantic City Electric late last year after the company laid out a $109 million request to increase delivery rates so they reflect upgrades and technology enhancements. A vote on the proposal is expected sometime later this year, following the completion of the state agency’s rate hike determination process.
Should the rate increase be approved this spring, a typical residential customer would see a monthly bill increase of about 8%, or $12.96 for 643 kilowatt hours per month, ACE officials said in a company filing last November.
Van Drew, whose 2nd Congressional District is the largest in the state, said PJM, the regional transmission organization responsible for coordinating the movement of New Jersey’s electricity needs, released a report a decade ago saying higher energy costs were coming.
“I talked about it. Some other people talked about it,” he said, adding the BPU ignored it and instead focused on wind energy and needing to spend more tax dollars “on this terrible technology that would hurt our tourism, our fishing industry, hurt the ratepayers and make us rely on foreign entities for our energy.”
Van Drew called the BPU’s action mean-spirited to the American people and in particular to the people of New Jersey.
“I am so disappointed in the BPU. They sat there with their lapel pins promoting wind when they were supposed to be neutral. It’s time for the BPU of the state of New Jersey to resign, to leave, in disgrace, in my opinion,” Van Drew said, adding electric rates will continue to increase until a program is put in place to address it. “We have to incentivize nuclear. We have to try to get nuclear in place and open up energy (options).”
He said promoting and subsidizing nuclear energy are one way to get it off the ground again, and it would be self-sufficient once “we get it going.”
While he also pointed a finger toward needing more gas lines to relieve the stressed-out electrical system, the congressman also said there are “no worries about oil coming in off the coast of New Jersey. We don’t have any oil out there.”
— Gina G. Scala