The closure of Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) would cause average annual electric expenditures in New York State to rise between $1.5 billion and $2.2 billion, according to a new report published by the Manhattan Institute, a New York City think tank.
The report, “The Economic Impacts of Closing and Replacing the Indian Point Energy Center,” concludes the higher electric costs would lead to economic output reductions estimated at $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion per year from 2016 to 2030.
That would in turn result in a loss of jobs that “could range from 26,000 to 40,000 per year, depending on the alternative chosen to replace IPEC,” wrote Jonathan A. Lesser, the report’s author and president of economic and litigation consulting firm Continental Economics Inc.
The report is just the latest in a string of studies and energy analyses featuring a discussion of the repercussions of the Buchanan nuclear power plant’s closure. In the past month, the Business Council of Westchester, the New York Independent System Operator and the New York State Energy Planning Board have all released reports or draft reports detailing, among other items, the possible alternatives to Indian Point and how the plant’s closure could affect consumers.
The various reports are largely in agreement that alternatives would need to be in place in order for the state’s grid reliability to not be impacted should Indian Point’s operating licenses not be renewed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lesser writes that those alternatives could include the construction of new natural gas-fired plants in the downstate region, the construction of additional high-voltage transmission lines into the downstate region, the construction of solar and wind-powered sources of generation, and the implementation of more aggressive energy-conservation measures.
Any or all of those alternatives would result in increased costs for consumers, he concludes.
The typical residential customer would likely see annual increases of $76 to $112; the typical commercial customer would see annual increases of $772 to $1,132; industrial consumers would see annual increases of $16,716 to $24,517; and transportation customers, such as the subway system, would likely see annual increases of $1.26 million to $1.85 million, the report states.
