The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Constellation Energy's waiver request to transfer PJM capacity interconnection rights from its Eddystone gas- and oil-fired plant to the Crane Clean Energy Center, the Pennsylvania nuclear facility formerly known as Three Mile Island Unit 1. The decision, issued June 1 and reported June 5, removes a significant grid hurdle ahead of the plant's planned 2027 restart.
Grid operator PJM had identified multiple transmission projects, including hundreds of miles of new 765-kilovolt and 500-kilovolt lines, that were in line for upgrades ahead of Crane. That work is not expected to finish until late 2030, which Constellation argued could leave the plant's full deliverability in limbo for three years or more after it is ready to generate.
The one-time limited waiver transfers interconnection rights from Eddystone, a six-unit plant originally scheduled to close in 2025 but kept running into 2026 under Department of Energy orders. According to FERC's decision, the transfer would reduce or eliminate the number of required transmission projects and potentially enable Crane to be fully operational before December 31, 2030.
FERC granted the request on findings that Constellation acted in good faith, that the waiver is limited in scope, and that it addresses a concrete problem without harming third parties. PJM's independent market monitor objected, but PJM itself did not oppose the request. Constellation has said the restart will supply reliability and capacity benefits to a PJM system facing rapid demand growth.
Source: ANS Nuclear Newswire -- https://www.ans.org/news/2026-06-05/article-8097/ferc-approves-constellation-waiver-request-on-crane-restart/