OREANDA-NEWS. Exelon is asking Illinois lawmakers to extend a lifeline to two of its nuclear power plants, at least until federal CO2 regulations take effect.

The company, the largest operator of nuclear plants in the country, yesterday proposed legislation that would create a zero emission standard. The bill would require Illinois utilities to source a portion of their electricity from nuclear generation starting next year. If lawmakers do not take action by the end of the month, when this year's legislative session ends, Exelon says it will have to shut down at least one of its two economically distressed nuclear power stations in the state.

"Without adequate legislation we no longer see a path to profitability and can no longer sustain the ongoing losses" at the facilities, Exelon chief executive Chris Crane said during an earnings call today.

Crane said the 1,078MW Clinton plant would be shut down by June 2017 without the legislation. The 1,918MW Quad Cities plant would close a year later if it does not clear at the 2019-20 PJM capacity auction this month.

But lawmakers may not be able to satisfy Exelon's request that the legislation is needed by the end of the month. The company, environmentalists and other groups have been sparring for a year over the parameters of a broad energy bill, and lawmakers now are focused on trying to reach a budget deal.

Last year, Exelon proposed a low-carbon energy standard that would have also benefited its 2,346MW Byron nuclear plant. A coalition of renewable energy and environmental groups is pushing legislation, called the Clean Jobs Bill, to boost the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 35pc by 2030. All sides have been in talks about trying to reach a compromise on a bill.

"At this time, those discussions have not concluded, and we have not yet reached an agreement," the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said.

The Exelon plan is based on a proposal by New York regulators to support some of the state's nuclear generating station, including two of the company's plants, as part of a new Clean Energy Standard. It would require the state's utilities to sign contracts to procure zero-emissions credits that are equivalent to at least 16pc of their retail sales starting in 2017. The cost of the ZECs would be determined by regulators and would be intended to cover the difference between operating costs and revenues for the units. Exelon says the two plants lost about $800mn from 2009-2015. Exelon is the parent company of Commonwealth Edison, one of the two main utilities that would have to meet the standard.

The proposal also includes provisions to provide $140mn/yr for new solar development, while replacing the state's net metering program with a rebate system to encourage customers to install solar. And it would expand the RPS and nearly double energy efficiency programs, Exelon said.

The legislation is written in a way to help generate cash for the power plants at least until the state is ready to comply with the federal Clean Power Plan. It would not allow utilities to terminate the ZEC contracts until 2023, or two years after the state has adopted a plan to meet its federal targets, whichever is earliest.

Before the US Supreme Court put the Clean Power Plan on hold in February, states had until September 2018 to submit compliance plans to EPA. But if the regulation survives the legal challenges, the deadline could be pushed back.

The Clean Power Plan would require Illinois' existing power plants to achieve a CO2 emission rate of 1,245lb/MWh by 2030, compared with 2,208lb/MWh in 2012. The state could choose to instead meet an overall emissions target of 66.5mn short tons by 2030, a 34pc reduction from 2012.