Montville - The town may soon learn how the impending sale of AES Thames, the town's top taxpayer, will affect the town's tax revenue.

The Uncasville-based coal-fired power plant filed for bankruptcy in February. The company was recently put up for sale as it goes through bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware federal court.

Bids on the sale were due to the court last Friday, according to Mayor Ronald K. McDaniel Jr., but it is uncertain when they will be released.

AES Thames, a subsidiary of the Arlington, Va.-based AES Corp., annually pays the town more than $1.2 million in taxes.

"The full economic ramifications of this have yet to be seen," McDaniel said. "It will depend on who the successful bidder is."

The potential loss of tax revenue to the town further complicates a budget process that town officials anticipate will already be difficult.

The town in the next fiscal year will make a $1.35 million payment to Rand-Whitney Containerboard as part of a court-ordered settlement following a long legal dispute with the paper manufacturer.

Approximately $600,000 in federal stimulus funds for education also will come off the books.

"It's going to exacerbate the issue," McDaniel said. "It's the function of the general economy, as well. That, and being in the midst of the re-evaluation (of property). (But) it's too early to see how things will shake out."

AES Thames annually generates 181 megawatts of electricity. A megawatt serves about 1,000 average homes.

The company generated and sold power to Connecticut Light & Power and also supplied unused steam, a byproduct of electric generation, to Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., which owns the property and runs a recycled paperboard mill.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has filed an objection in Delaware federal court to the sale of AES Thames.

A spokesman for the NRC said the company, which makes fixed nuclear gauges, is "not relieved of its requirement to properly control and store nuclear material and to perform decommission work by virtue of a bankruptcy filing."

The court is scheduled to hear arguments on the objection today.

AES Thames in June sought to restructure by selling its power directly into the regional electrical grid. It made this attempt to bypass the power and steam contracts that it said were contributing to its bankruptcy.

The company has also cited the increased cost of energy production as a contributing factor.

Staff Writer Pat Daddona contributed to this report.

jeff.johnson@theday.com