110 to Lose Their Jobs; Effects
on City’s Lawsuit in Question
By Josh Resnek
It would appear that Exelon’s answer to the
city’s lawsuit against the giant energy firm is this:
we are shutting down the plant.
The shutdown will not occur fully until 2022
and will effect 110 employees and quite possibly,
the city’s tax rate.
“We have until the summer to reconsider the
unconditional retirement of the generating units,”
said spokeswoman Stephanie Jacobsen.
The generating plant is being retired because,
according to Exelon officials, there is enough
excess capacity on hand to make them unnecessary.
Ron DeGregorio, president of Exelon Power,
said it was a difficult day.
“Not only is it a difficult day for the talented
men and women who have dedicated themselves
to operating Mystic safely and reliably every
day but for their families, their
communities, and all of their
colleagues here at Exelon,”
continued DeGregorio. “We
will continue to engage in
supportive, open and honest
dialogue with employees in the
coming months,” he added.
Exelon had no comment
on whether or not their
announcement closing the plant
was connected with animus
possibly created by the city
seeking millions more in taxes
from the company already the
city’s largest taxpayer.
The city also had no comment
on this question.
Mintz Levin’s lead lawyer on
the law suit, former Governor
William Weld, did not reply to
a request for information about
the status of the lawsuit.
The city has spent $1 million
on a lawsuit designed to have
Exelon pay many more millions
for the generating plant.
“I was disappointed to be
informed by Exelon Generation
that they have submitted a
formal request to ISO New
England to retire four Mystic
generator units. Mystic Station
is critical to the reliability of
our regional power system,
particularly with the planned
retirement of other power
stations in New England,” said
the mayor.
“ I strongly encourage ISO
New England to examine those
reliability factors closely. I am
confident that after a careful
review by regulators, Mystic
station will operate for many
years to come,” he added.
One week ago, Weld appeared
inside an executive session
with the mayor and about 12
others in city government, where
the status of the law suit was
discussed.
Exelon, the city’s largest
taxpayer, is purchasing the LNG
property next door to its giant
generating station along the
Mystic River.
That tradeoff, the closing of
the oil fired generating station
and the purchase of the LNG
facility could create a giant tax
disparity when it comes to pass.
The LNG plant pays $7 million
a year in property taxes to the
city presently.
The Exelon facility pays $15
million.
When the plant closes, its taxes
will fall dramatically, although it
is impossible to attach an exact
figure to the amount except to
predict it will fall by millions.
The city’s contention that
the plant’s size is related to its
usefulness in the modern energy
world is not consistent with
Exelon’s decision.
The decision to close the plant
is a simple one, says Exelon.
The company claims it has
enough capacity just with the
LNG plant to take care of all
their customers even at peak
demand.
Exelon spokesperson Jacobsen
said she wouldn’t comment
or speculate about the tax
implications of the closure, or
whether or not the mayor has
reached out to Exelon and had
no comment about whether or
not Wynn Resorts had offered
to buy the property from Exelon.
Jacobsen said she would not
speculate or comment on the above questions.