Following these retirements, Eddystone station will remain in service, operating six units capable of generating 820MW. Cromby station will close when its units permanently retire.
In the notification to PJM, Exelon Power states that the four units, all in suburban Philadelphia, are no longer economic to operate and are not required to meet shrinking demand for electricity in the region. PJM must review whether the retirement of the units creates reliability issues.
Doyle Beneby, senior vice president of Exelon Power, said: “Decreased power demand, over supply of natural gas and increasing operating costs, has led Exelon Power to retire these units.
“Only the most efficient and lowest cost units can consistently compete in the wholesale markets. Unfortunately, these aging units are no longer efficient enough to compete with newer resources.”
The retirements will affect approximately 280 positions between the end of first quarter 2010 and late 2011.
Cromby generating station is on the Schuylkill River in Phoenixville, pennsylvania. Cromby unit 1 and unit 2 were placed in service in 1954 and 1955, respectively. Unit 1 is a 144MW coal-fired unit and unit 2 is a 201MW unit that operates on either natural gas or fuel oil.
Eddystone generating station is on the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Unit 1 is a 279MW coal-fired unit and unit 2 is a 309MW coal-fired unit, both were placed in service in 1960. Two 380MW peaking units that run on either natural gas or oil and four oil-burning units that produce a total of 60MW will continue to be available for operation. Exelon Power will continue to operate 4,200MW of natural gas, oil, hydro, and landfill generation within the PJM Interconnection.
