Apr 30 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Garry Lenton The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.

Electricity generated by the Three Mile Island nuclear plant saves state consumers about $288 million a year on their electric bills.

That is the conclusion of a study performed for TMI owner Exelon Nuclear by a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. TMI is seeking to extend the plant's operating license by 20 years.

Without TMI, the state would need to generate more electricity with more costly coal and natural gas, the study said. The study did not include renewable energy sources in its calculations.

During high-demand periods, TMI saved ratepayers more than $570,000 an hour, said co-author Collin W. Cain, of the consulting firm Bates White.

Among other highlights:

--TMI employs more than 500 full-time workers.

--Salaries, taxes and purchases of goods and services for the plant generate about $99 million for the state's economy each year.

--Spin-off activity boosts TMI's overall annual economic impact total to about $142 million in Pennsylvania.

The study was criticized by Three Mile Island Alert, the watchdog group challenging the license extension.

Eric Epstein, chairman of TMI Alert, said the plant's economic impact has declined, noting the facility's fair market value was reduced and that the company has cut its work force.

Epstein also said the report ignores costs underwritten by ratepayers and taxpayers, such as the cost of decommissioning TMI Unit 1 and subsidized insurance rates.

A 2004 study performed by the Nuclear Energy Institute estimated TMI pumped about $500 million into the state's economy.

The latest study is more specific to TMI, said Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for AmerGen, the Exelon subsidiary that operates the plant.