Mercer Generation Station in Jersey City, which was opened in 1960, has a capacity of 632 megawatts (MW); Hudson Generation Station in Hamilton Township, with a capacity of 620 MW, opened in 1968. Combined, the plants employ about 200 individuals.
“The sustained low prices of natural gas have put economic pressure on these plants for some time,” said PSEG Power President and CEO Bill Levis. “In that context, we could not justify the significant investment required to upgrade these plants to meet the new reliability standards.”
“The plants have been infrequently called on to run and neither plant cleared the last two PJM capacity auctions. The plants’ capacity payments have been critical to their profitability and PSEG’s ability to continue to invest in modernizing them.”
PSEG has largely turned its focus to gas and its nuclear facilities; it is currently investing more than $600 million in a new state-of-the-art combined-cycled gas plant in Sewaren, New Jersey, as well as new plants in Connecticut and Maryland.
The company said all options are being evaluated regarding future use of the New Jersey sites.
