tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post2888035122613493474..comments2023-04-07T05:19:44.951-04:00Comments on Yes Vermont Yankee: Entergy Files SuitMeredith Angwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-9932865278706882452011-04-21T13:58:58.693-04:002011-04-21T13:58:58.693-04:00A note on Vermont Electric Cooperative.
Vermont...A note on Vermont Electric Cooperative. <br /><br />Vermont Electric Cooperative is the utility that completed negotiations with Vermont Yankee in early April, but has not yet approved the contract. I blogged about this on April 6, in <i>Press Releases and Signalling: Entergy and Vermont Electric Cooperative</i><br />http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2011/04/press-releases-and-signalling-entergy.htmlMeredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-84536302889491973062011-04-21T12:08:37.314-04:002011-04-21T12:08:37.314-04:00Is the Good Life Possible with Vermont Yankee?
Ve...Is the Good Life Possible with Vermont Yankee?<br /><br />Vermont has “pro-nukes,” “anti-nukes” and those residents not seeming to fit in either group…perhaps there’s room for another category entitled, “anti-Vermont Yankee?” Some Vermonters have said they’re not against nuclear power, (if) the leaks can be stopped, the spent fuel rod storage problem can be solved and the structures can be fabricated to withstand all possible weather anomalies. <br /><br />Vermont Yankee (VY) is located in the town of Vernon which sits in the southeastern corner of the state at the junction formed by the Connecticut River and the Massachusetts border, and was once actually a part of the town of Hinsdale, NH. Purportedly, Vernon’s 2141 people have even discussed seceding from Vermont (to either NH or MA) if the Legislature refuses to grant VY a license extension beyond 2012.<br /><br />VY, operating since 1972 and employing about 650 people, is the state’s largest power source with a nominal 540 megawatt boiling water reactor, and is one of five operating nuclear plants in New England. In 2002, VY was sold by eight New England utilities to Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC, a subsidiary of the Entergy Corporation of New Orleans, the second largest nuclear generator in the US.<br /><br />In February of 2010, the VT Senate voted 26-4 against allowing the Public Service Board (PSB) to consider re-certifying VY after 2012, citing radioactive (tritium) leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials, a cooling tower collapse in 2007 and other problems. In the event the PSB refuses to issue them a Certificate of Public Good, VY could elect to continue to operate and the case would be decided in court, since the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently granted a license renewal to operate until 2032.<br /><br />So, where does all this see-sawing leave the customer who’s concerned about how high electric bills will be if VY closes? Since the Vernon plant supplies about a third of the state’s total power, how will that amount be replaced? The average Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) member would pay between 50 & 60 cents extra each month if VY closes. Replacement power will have to be purchased from the New England grid, which isn’t the most cost-effective way to obtain electricity, but it appears to be the best option right now.<br /><br />If Vermont Yankee’s past record predicts its future and safety modifications aren’t made, many Vermonters feel it should be closed permanently. Most VEC members seem to agree. Perhaps divining its prospects, two days after Peter Shumlin became the new VT Governor, Entergy put Vermont Yankee up for sale.<br /><br />(Don Worth is the Director for District 1 on the VEC Board of Directors and is running for re-election in May. The foregoing does not express the opinion of VEC or its Board.)Don Worthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-75835358469947629922011-04-20T13:59:48.301-04:002011-04-20T13:59:48.301-04:00"a small college ... and yet there are those ...<i>"a small college ... and yet there are those who love it"</i><br /><br />Local Dartmouth buffs should delight in realizing that precedent for overturning the Vermont legislature in favor of Vermont Yankee is none other than the famous Dartmouth College case, argued by Daniel Webster before the US Supreme Court. Wikipedia tells us:<br /><br />In 1815 ... the legislature of New Hampshire attempted to alter Dartmouth's charter in order to reinstate the College's deposed president, placing the ability to appoint positions in the hands of the governor...<br /><br />The Court ruled that Dartmouth College's corporate charter qualified as a contract between private parties, the King and the trustees, with which the legislature could not interfere. ...the contract is still valid because the Constitution says that a state cannot pass laws to impair a contract.Robert Hargraveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06846491141058940965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-24668743945965378042011-04-18T15:04:47.633-04:002011-04-18T15:04:47.633-04:00Joffan. You are right.Joffan. You are right.Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-26866804573601829342011-04-18T14:56:38.904-04:002011-04-18T14:56:38.904-04:00I don't think the DPS presentation implies con...I don't think the DPS presentation implies continued operation for Vermont Yankee past March 2012. It graphs one point per year; 2010 and 2011 are similar values, 2012 is 1/4 the value and 2013 is zero.Joffannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-14928596341796508292011-04-18T14:46:17.920-04:002011-04-18T14:46:17.920-04:00I am sure that the state will argue that Act 160 d...I am sure that the state will argue that Act 160 doesn't change the M O U. Entergy will argue (and I think correctly) that it signed up to be evaluated by the PSB, and Act 160 materially changes that contract, and is therefore illegal. <br /><br />All lawsuits are like horse races. You don't know who will win until it is over. I think Entergy has a strong case, but they still may not win.<br /><br />By the way, I only publish maybe one-fourth of the anonymous comments I get. So if others are looking here for their comment, and they sent it in anonymously, it is probably in the bit bucket. Snarky anonymous comments are always dumped.Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-75277964926926321142011-04-18T14:01:04.083-04:002011-04-18T14:01:04.083-04:00I don't see how 160 changes the MOU. The natur...I don't see how 160 changes the MOU. The nature of the MOU remains the same, the PSB must issue a certificate of public good for VY to remain in operation.<br /><br />What has changed is the mechanism by which the PSB issues a certificate.<br /><br />Am I missing something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com