NPP Newsletter: NPP Applauds Nuclear Energy Caucus Report

Hello friends –

Thursday was a critical day for all of us who care passionately about Pennsylvania’s nuclear energy industry and the jobs it supports. Nuclear Powers Pennsylvania members were proudly in attendance at a landmark event held at the Londonderry Volunteer Fire Company, where co-chairs of Pennsylvania’s bipartisan Nuclear Energy Caucus (NEC) released their much-anticipated report. That report details the nuclear energy industry’s contributions to Pennsylvania’s communities, economy and environment – and offers possible solutions that would prevent the premature closure of our nuclear plants.

The report is a culmination of the key findings and expert testimony collected by the NEC during hearings held in the 2017-2018 legislative session. The report has now been transmitted to all members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly as well as to Governor Wolf.

Following his introduction by Fire Chief Bart Shellenhamer, who also serves as Londonderry Township Supervisor, NEC Co-Chair Senator Ryan Aument spoke briefly about the Caucus’ activities this year before thanking the hard working men and women who support Pennsylvania’s nuclear power industry. The room was electric, filled with hundreds of nuclear energy employees from across PA.

Senator Aument was followed by NEC Co-Chair Representative Becky Corbin, who spoke about the necessity of nuclear power from an environmental standpoint. Rep. Corbin noted that any shutdown of nuclear power plants across the country would result in a greenhouse gas emergency that would work against progress made in combating climate change.

Other featured speakers at Thursday’s event included Dauphin County Commissioner Michael Pries and Joe Gusler, president of the Central Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council. Each shared their thoughts and concerns about how the premature retirement of Pennsylvania’s nuclear power plants would negatively impact the economy and communities in which they operate.

The report includes four options as to how the General Assembly might take action in 2019 to prevent the premature closure of nuclear plants in the Commonwealth.

We were pleased to see the strong media presence at Thursday’s event. Here’s a sampling of the coverage from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which reported:

“If Pennsylvania was willing to give Royal Dutch Shell $1.6 billion in incentives to build an ethane cracker in Beaver County, and offer $4.6 billion for Amazon for the privilege to host HQ2, it should be willing to open its pocketbook to save the 16,000 nuclear power jobs already in Pennsylvania.” (read more here)

And to get a feel for the event, we encourage you to watch this report from the Fox affiliate in Harrisburg.

A copy of the NEC’s report is available to read and download at the link here. We encourage you to visit this webpage to see if your local legislators are involved in the NEC’s activities and ensure they read the report.

As always, we thank you for your ongoing support of Pennsylvania’s nuclear power industry. Be sure to keep in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter.

We look forward to continuing this important work with you in the New Year!

-Nuclear Powers Pennsylvania