Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Art of the Deal: Shaffer at ANS

Howard Shaffer
The Art of the Deal: ANS Nuclear Cafe post by Howard Shaffer

Yesterday, ANS Nuclear Cafe posted Howard Shaffer's blog post The Art of the Deal.  In this post, Shaffer summarizes the Entergy-Vermont deal which will be presented to the Public Service Board. In the hearings about the deal, Entergy AND Vermont state agencies will be in support of the deal. They will mutually support the Public Service Board granting Entergy a  Certificate of Public Good for operation through 2014, based on the agreement. The sight of Entergy and state agencies supporting each other in front of the Public Service Board--Wow. What a wonderful sight that will be.  It surely has not happened since Governor Shumlin was elected!  And now it will happen.

This is truly a New Deal and a Big Deal, and Howard describes it very well.  He also describes the ways the opponents are likely to fight it, and why they are unlikely to win.
At the price of a small spoiler-alert, I want to share some of Howard's conclusions:


Where does this leave the PSB? With an easier task than before.... Now, with the state and Entergy together—...—it will be hard to find something that will not be in the public good. It is expected that the PSB will complete the hearings to give the opponents their “day in court,” and perhaps impose a few administrative conditions, and then approve the CPG.

The opponents can be expected to continue to fight to the end, and to try to make it even more bitter.


But really: read the whole Art of the Deal, not just this excerpt!


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