The Salem Power Plant has submitted a "permanent delist bid" with ISO-New England in what some are saying are the first steps toward shutting the antiquated plant.

But representatives from ISO-New England, the authority responsible for insuring adequate supplies of power across the New England region, and Dominion Energy say shutting the plant are not in the plans.

Dominion Energy, the Salem Power Plant's owner, filed a "Permanent Delist Bid" in October to remove them from the annual auction ISO-New England runs to determine price based on energy capacity in a region. Each plant must enter the auction to set the rate for energy. 

"We filed a delist bid, but that does not mean we are shutting down," Dan Genest, a spokesperson for Dominion, said Friday.

The bid to delist, if accepted by ISO, would mean the plant would be taken out of one of the many energy markets starting in 2014.

"The way pricing is working in the New England area, we cannot make money at auction price for Salem Station. The best way to make money at the station is to enter a delist bid and go into other energy markets."

Once a bid is submitted, ISO New England studies if they can continue to deliver reliable energy without the plant in service.

Genest said if ISO finds they need Salem Power Plant after review, they will have to pay Dominion a higher rate to continue to be online. Genest would not say what Dominion's business plans are relating to entering other energy markets. 

"We'll wait and see if they accept the bid," he said. "We've said all along, we will continue to operate the Salem Harbor station as long as we can. We will do it safety and economically and in compliance with all environmental regulations. That hasn't changed."

A Sign of the Times

But according to Swampscott-based nonprofit Healthlink, by filing to permanently withdraw Salem Power Plant as an electricity generator, Dominion has signaled that is does not believe it can run the plant profitably and that it cannot maintain the plant going forward.

Healthlink was started by Lynn Nadeau and state Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, in 1997. Along with a group of volunteers, the group works to protect people from disease-causing pollution and push for tougher regulations on power plants.

"It's just too expensive for them to keep it going," co-founder Nadeau said. "There is not enough money to keep it up and pay for upgrades in the future."

Healthlink reached their first goal in 2001 to strengthen the state regulations covering coal- fired power plants built before 1978, including the Salem Power Plant.

As recently as September, Dominion told state leaders the plant had no plans to close.

"Pending ISO's permission, the plant will be shut down," Nadeau said. "They see the writing is on the wall."

A history of delisting

Erin Foley, a spokesperson for ISO-New England, said Dominion has submitted two delist bids in the past -- October 2009 for power year 2012-2013 and another held in August 2010 for power year 2013-2014.

According to Foley, Dominion submitted static delist bids to withdraw Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 from the capacity market for one year, but  ISO rejected the delist bids for Units 3 and 4 because they are needed to ensure the reliability of the power system in Northeastern Massachusetts and the region as a whole.

Units 1 and 2 were allowed to delist but as Foley said, other generators were still needed. Those units allowed to withdraw from the capacity market continue to participate in the energy and ancillary services markets.

"As is true with a static delist bid, if a unit submits a permanent delist bid and is allowed to withdraw from the Forward Capacity Market, it may still participate in the energy and ancillary services markets," ISO spokesperson Marcia Bloomberg said. 

ISO-New England will make the final decision as to whether they will accept Salem Station's delist bid in June and will make that answer public 30 days after the auction.

"A delist bid is not a request to retire," Foley said.

Members of Healthlink are holding a meeting at the Unitarian Church in Salem Sunday at 7 p.m. to discuss this and other issues.