Talks over the future of the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in Oswego County have resumed between Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office and Entergy, which owns the plant.
Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said he is in talks with the president of Entergy, about keeping the facility open. Entergy announced this week that it will close Fitzpatrick in about a year due to falling energy prices. They also complained about a lack of state financial assistance for the nuclear industry.
In their conversation, Schumer told the Entergy president to deliver a plan of what he needs to keep Fitzpatrick open.
"I told him that New York has been good to him," Schumer said. "This plant has 600 families that depend on jobs, the whole central New York region depends on the plant for electricity and we have a reliability issue."
The state Public Service Commission will determine if the plant is crucial to meet the region's energy requirements. Schumer said that study may be the best way to stop Fitzpatrick from closing. If Entergy moves forward with its decision to shut FitzPatrick down, the Democratic senator has pledged to fight the company alongside Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Although, he admits that his options are limited.
"The power is more at the state level," Schumer said. "There are federal levels because they do depend on the federal government for other means."
Earlier this week, Schumer said Entergy's decision would affect his relationship with them at the federal level.