Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s subsidy of upstate nuclear plants will cost more than his administration's original estimate as electricity prices stay lower than forecast.
The state said in 2017 that the 12-year subsidy for the three aging plants would cost an estimated $2.9 billion. But that calculation was based on electricity and capacity prices increasing in the coming years.
The first re-calculation of the subsidy took place last month, and the price of the subsidy actually increased
starting April 1 because of the higher social cost of carbon set by the federal government. The increase of 12 percent, to $19.59 per megawatt hour, means ratepayers will pay nearly $1.1 billion over the next two years to keep the plants open.
The latest update brings the total cost of the nuclear subsidy in the first four years to more than $2 billion — and even based on the state’s previous forecast, the total cost would now be north of $3.1 billion.
The nuclear subsidies in the form of zero emissions credits, or ZECs, were approved in 2016 as part of the Clean Energy Standard, which also subsidizes new renewable energy projects.