A temporary reprieve for Eddystone and Cromby plants

Exelon Corp. will delay next year's planned retirement of its aging Cromby and Eddystone generating units, sparing - at least for a year or two - some of the 280 jobs that were scheduled to be eliminated.

In order to maintain the reliability of the regional transmission system, Exelon agreed to continue operating one of the two Cromby Generating Station units in Phoenixville until May 2012, and one of the two coal-fired units at the Eddystone Generating Station in Chester through the end of 2013.

The Chicago-based company, whose power-generation subsidiary is based in Kennett Square, announced plans in December to retire the 1950s-era power plants in 2011 because they were no longer economical to operate in deregulated power markets.

But PJM Interconnection, the regional grid coordinator, said the absence of the power plants could imbalance the transmission system, so the grid would need to be reinforced before the units were taken off-line.

Peco Energy Co., the Exelon subsidiary that operates the local transmission system, will need to upgrade some transformers and circuit breakers and to install heavier transmission lines to handle more load, said Ray Dotter, PJM spokesman.

The targeted Eddystone and Cromby units have 933 megawatts of capacity, but PJM agreed with Exelon that there is sufficient generation capacity in the region to meet demand.

"There's enough generation to supply customers," said Ray Dotter, PJM spokesman. "It's a question of having it in the right place."

Glen Robinson, vice president of business operations for Exelon Power, said the company expects PJM will reimburse Exelon for some of the added cost of keeping the plants operating.

Robinson said it was uncertain how many jobs would be eliminated next year. Eddystone Unit 1 and Cromby Unit 1 will retire as scheduled on May 31, 2011.

Exelon Power earlier estimated that about 220 jobs would be lost at Cromby and Eddystone, and an additional 60 headquarters positions would be eliminated. Robinson said Exelon would like to reduce layoffs by shifting workers to other jobs.

In their heydays, Cromby and Eddystone were workhorses. But the plants, which came under Exelon's ownership after Peco Energy Co. merged with Chicago utility Commonwealth Edison Co. in 2000, had played an increasingly limited role.

PJM, which manages the 13-state high-voltage electrical transmission system from its Valley Forge headquarters, has ordered other plants to remain operating in the past in order to keep the system reliable.