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* Steve Daniels at Crain’s…
Perhaps Exelon’s most politically potent argument in Springfield as it seeks more ratepayer subsidies for its Illinois nuclear plants is the preservation of more than 1,000 union jobs at two facilities slated to close in the fall without state help. But hundreds of Exelon’s nuke workers in Illinois quietly have left or lost their jobs over the past three years as the company has throttled back costs.
Between 2017 and 2020, employment at Exelon-owned plants in Illinois declined by nearly 600, according to the audit performed at the request of Gov. J.B. Pritzker by Cambridge-based Synapse Energy Economics. The average headcount per plant at the company’s six facilities in the state was 630, versus nearly 800 in 2017.
The report, when it was originally released in April, blacked out the employment numbers. But Exelon in recent days has permitted most of the report to be made public.
* Also, I told subscribers about this yesterday…
In addition, Exelon now is hunting for subsidies for all four of its unsubsidized Illinois nukes, not just the two at imminent risk of shutdown.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 2:47 pm
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Maybe we should just have a pollution tax so the nuke plants would have a more level playing field vis-a-vis the filthy coal and gas plants.
Just sayin.
Comment by Dan Johnson Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 2:49 pm
I don’t know all the ins and outs here. But I’ve gathered over the past few years that Exelon seems to be more adept at lobbying and getting government handouts than maybe running these power plants?
Accountants can make just about business show a loss instead of a profit - but just open the darn books. A full wide open audit is needed after the millions the company has been given.
Comment by Cool Papa Bell Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:13 pm
Maybe their headcount isn’t low because of draconian cuts. Maybe workers are just staying home collecting the generous unemployment insurance payouts. /S
Comment by Dysfunction Junction Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:20 pm
A significant part of the reason those employees have been leaving, according to the employees who are still there, is that there is so much uncertainty about their job security that they have left for other opportunities, in many cases less beneficial, simply to ensure they have employment.
Comment by ;) Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:32 pm
There would be no solar or wind farms built in Illinois without a government tax subsidy.
I’m no fan of Exelon, but how are they supposed to compete with that?
Comment by Soapbox Derby Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:39 pm
Nuclear power may not produce visible smoke or mountains of toxin laden ash, but please let us not make the error of mistaking nuclear power for clean energy. The waste disposal issue has not been solved.
If 45 plus year old, long ago paid off in 1981 dollars nuclear power plants cannot compete then tough. $3 billion in stock-buybacks in the last five years and quarterly dividends of $374 million makes me think they are doing okay and I would be interested in looking at their individual plants results of operations. $60 million for payroll and every 18 months $40 million for nuclear fuel rods. So about $60 million for a year of payroll and $107 million for fuel rods for one year’s use for 4 plants. The electricity is sold for billions and they have the gaul to cry poverty.
Here is a twenty year old joke, maybe someone will still think it is cute.
There are two kinds of Commissioners at the Commerce Commission. No, there are not Republicans or Democrats on the Commission. There are Commissioners who represent either AT&T or ComEd and that is it.
I gess I date myself by saying ComEd rather than Excelon but that is how I heard it in 1998.
Comment by Al Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:40 pm
===how are they supposed to compete with that? ===
The independent audit took a look at that and deemed them eligible for some limited subsidies.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:41 pm
…In other words, nobody at the table is saying don’t give them anything. The question is should they cave to the huge (much bigger than reported in Crain’s so far) subsidy Exelon is demanding.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:47 pm
Hey now! Exelon is just looking out for its executives and shareholders, … err, I mean customers.
But seriously, how can they do this with a straight face?
Comment by Nobody Sent Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:49 pm
$530 million divided by 1000 employees is $530,000 per person which would give the employees plenty of cushion to find work elsewhere and end the subsidy after one year. There, by cutting just one year we saved $530 million in year 2….and carry that out to however many years and we saved billions and the fact that they built too many power plants should be a penalty for flooding the market with excess capacity.
Comment by Mathy Math Math Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:50 pm
Dear Soapbox, Uranium ore producers get a 22.5% Depletion Allowance Tax Deduction. They take their Gross Revenue and Substract 22.5% of it. Then their Net Income for federal Income taxes is 77.5% of actual income.
Oil and gas producers get a 15%. Fossil fuels are subsidizes as industrial policy to promote production. Now that the nuclear, Oil and Coal infrastructure have been developed maybe we should reconsider these bought and paid for tax deductions.
Comment by Al Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 3:56 pm
===There would be no solar or wind farms built in Illinois without a government tax subsidy.
I’m no fan of Exelon, but how are they supposed to compete with that?===
Maybe they should be building solar and wind farms…? I have no sympathy for Exelon. They always have a one hand held out, and one hand on their money clip.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 4:03 pm
Too much per job. Since the power goes across state lines and feeds into the nation’s climate change strategy, a federal response is warranted, not state or local.
We could buy those plants for not much more than that subsidy.
Comment by Jibba Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 4:05 pm
Hold up…
If the average headcount is 630 jobs at the six plants we are talking 3,780 jobs total.
If they are asking for a $500 million annual subsidy that is an annual subsidy of $132,275 for each job.
That’s nuts.
Sounds like Exelon wants to make Illinois taxpayers bear the burden of the fines it incurred for getting caught cheating Illinois taxpayers last time.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 4:13 pm
Right up front… I am not a fan of nuclear waste and feel that is a big problem for the industry. However, the most common wind turbine foundation used, especially in Illinois, is the shallow mat extension. All but maybe, at maximum, the top five feet of that foundation and all the tons of concrete and associated steel, plastics, wiring, etc. gets left in the ground once a turbine is decommissioned at 20 or 30 years of age. There are few states or localities (if any) in the US that require a complete decommissioning of the site. So the “tombstone” of each wind turbine will be just under the ground, 4 or 5 feet, for generations to come. For me, there are other renewable resources, including much more long term small wind renewables and energy sources on the cusp of sustainability, that are far more environmentally friendly than industrial wind. Just more industrial wind and solar, even for Exelon, may not be the best answer, either. http://www.steelwindtower.com/wind-turbine-foundation-5-foundation-types-explained-for-onshore-wind-turbine/
Comment by Anon221 Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 4:21 pm
== Dear Soapbox, Uranium ore producers get a 22.5% Depletion Allowance Tax Deduction. They take their Gross Revenue and Subtract 22.5% of it. Then their Net Income for federal Income taxes is 77.5% of actual income. ==
In addition to the subsidies for stimulating domestic uranium mining, the commercial nuclear industry has received generous federal government support for nuclear research, development and demonstration; nuclear regulation to protect the public’s health and safety; enrichment of uranium to make it usable in nuclear power plants; and indemnification of power plant owners and others in the industry against nuclear accidents.
Comment by Going nuclear Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 4:22 pm
Don’t you just love it when a corporation cries poor while trying to pick your pocket.
Comment by Manchester Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 4:57 pm
did Exelon suspend all bonuses and stock options for management?? Just asking
Comment by truthteller Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 6:19 pm
And they will likely get it too.
They are powerhouse lobbying in this state.
Comment by The Dude Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 6:47 pm
===So the “tombstone” of each wind turbine will be just under the ground, 4 or 5 feet, for generations to come.===
I gotta tell you, given what we leave or bury in the ground, this is truly irrelevant given the benefits. Even for several thousand mills over time.
Comment by Jibba Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 8:44 pm
On a cold winter night in Illinois, when the solar and wind fields aren’t producing any electricity, I’m happy that my local nuclear plant is keeping the power on.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 9:06 pm
Jibba- Respectfully… no it is not. It’s wasteful and shortsighted. And, it is one of the ways industrial wind is able to try and lay claim to cheap energy production. All of their costs are not accounted for because they don’t have to account for them. That site where the turbine sat will never be fully reclaimable as farmland. And there have never been any long term studies, to my knowledge, of how shallow aquifers that are interconnected to larger ones, such as the Mahomet Aquifer (a federally designated sole source aquifer) may be affected by leaching or other degradation of left behind materials following a decommissioning. The turbines going in Mason County right now on an very sandy soil and right on top of the Mahomet Aquifer and all of the associated shallower aquifer lens. There are places over there that the groundwater is right below the surface. Time and erosion will tell.
Comment by Anon221 Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 9:46 pm