VAN BUREN COUNTY (WKZO-AM) — Lawton Republican Aric Nesbitt says the decision by Entergy to close the Palisades Nuclear Plant in the fall of 2018 is a major blow to the economy of the region and the energy future of the state and he wants to see what he can do to get the company to change its mind.
He will also ask the Michigan Public Service Commission to reject the plan. He says it’s “wrong for the community, wrong for the state, and wrong for Entergy”.
Apparently the energy company feels differently because they have already negotiated to break off their contract to supply electricity to Consumers Energy a few months before the closure.
Nesbitt, who is Chairman of the House Committee on Energy Policy, says he was blindsided by the announcement.
Entergy says they just can no longer compete with natural gas, particularly given the costs of maintaining the aging nuclear plant.
Nesbitt may use it to argue for support of the Energy Policy Reform bill now before the State House which is reported to be just a half-dozen votes short of passage.
The measure is reportedly scheduled for a vote next week, in the last waning days of this legislative session.
