NY: No Ruling On Entergy Nuclear Spinoff In 2009

ALAN SAYRE

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New York utility regulators likely will not decide the fate of power provider Entergy Corp.'s plan to spin off its wholesale nuclear power generators into a separate company until at least early next year.

New Orleans-based Entergy had hoped for a decision in November on whether it may place six nuclear reactors under a separate publicly traded company known as Enexus Energy Corp. Entergy first announced the plan in late 2007.

But two administrative law judges for the New York Public Service Commission, in a ruling issued late Friday, said a determination still must be made on whether the new company will have the financial capability to run three of the units in that state — two at the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County and a reactor at the James A. Fitzpatrick station in Oswego County.

The PSC staff has expressed concerns that long-term unsecured bonds issued for the spinoff might result in a low Enexus bond rating, thus limiting the new company's financial capacity.

In July, after settlement discussions with regulators broke off, Entergy said the amount of long-term bonds would be lowered to $3.5 billion from $4.5 billion. In the revised plan, Entergy also said the amount of unrestricted cash left with the new company would increase from $250 million to $750 million and a minimum $350 million in liquidity would be reserved to increase plant reliability.