U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff determined recently that a planned corporate restructuring of Electricite de France Inc. does not require a transfer of operating licenses for Constellation Energy’s three nuclear facilities.

According to an NRC report, EDF has part ownership of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, along with the Nine Mile Point and Robert E. Ginna nuclear power plants in New York, all of which are operated by Constellation. As such, corporate restructuring EDF is currently undergoing will not result in the need to transfer any or all of the plants’ operating licenses and therefore will not need agency review.

EDF proposed its restructuring in October, after which the NRC reviewed the implications of the company’s plans to ensure it would not require either a direct or indirect license transfer.

Since the NRC has not yet issued a decision on a proposed merger of Constellation and Exelon, Constellation continues to hold the license for all three plants. If the Constellation-Exelon merger receives approval, it would result in an indirect transfer of those licenses.

Constellation previously has cited the combined enterprise value of the merged corporation at $52 billion. That merger was announced last spring, and the New York Public Service Commission approved it in December, right after an agreement was reached to expand Constellation-Exelon’s benefits package for Maryland; it is expected to bring more than $1 billion and more than 6,000 jobs to the state.

The merger awaits approval now from the Maryland Public Service Commission.

MEGHAN RUSSELL