What happens when VY’s cupboard is bare?

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In the category of “How naive can you get?” Vermont Yankee supporter, Howard Shaffer certainly wins the prize.

Many in the Vermont legislature would like to see imposition of a $40-million reserve fund to restore the Vermont Yankee site to a “greenfield” condition, post-decommissioning, as was promised to the state by Entergy when it purchased the aging facility.  But Mr. Shaffer sees absolutely no problem in getting Entergy to pay-up:

“The issue of will there be enough money is a serious one, but I also think it will be found that the federal government laws override state laws that allow somebody to go bankrupt and run away from their responsibility,” he said. “That’s Congress’ intent. And they’re going to find the original owners and make them pay.”

Arnie Gundersen of Fairwinds Associates is far less certain:

Gundersen said Entergy Corporation, Yankee’s owner, is looking at major expenses in the future. These include a $200 million bill to replace its condenser and potentially another $40 million in modifications that could be required as a result of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan…at the end of the day when the fund is depleted there may not be funds to get to greenfield.

Gundersen supports the bill under consideration by Vermont’s House Natural Resource and Energy Committee that would codify Entergy’s obligation to return the site to a “greenfield” state.

Considering it’s record of insincerity and looking around at the declining fortunes of nuclear plants in other places does not make one optimistic that Entergy will live up to its promises, post-VY, without enhanced inducement.

Declining gas prices and growing regulatory concerns are both moving the American energy market away from nuclear and its fleet of outdated reactors.  Dominion Resources just announced that it will close the Kewaunee plant in Wisconsin even though it is licensed to operate for another twenty years.  It is expected that many nuclear plants in the northeast will soon follow suit.

The worldwide industry’s number one bad boy,TEPCO is refusing to fork over the small portion (10.5 billion yen; or roughly $106-million) of the decontamination costs for Fukushima, which the Japanese government is asking the company to contribute.  The total costs are expected to reach into the trillions of yen.

It kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?

About Sue Prent

Artist/Writer/Activist living in St. Albans, Vermont with my husband since 1983. I was born in Chicago; moved to Montreal in 1969; lived there and in Berlin, W. Germany until we finally settled in St. Albans.

8 thoughts on “What happens when VY’s cupboard is bare?”

  1. …fed­er­al gov­ern­ment laws over­ride state laws that allow some­body to go bank­rupt and run away from their responsibility

  2. what happens, Mother Goose presaged this hundreds of years ago:

    *added emphasis

    [..]But when she got there,

    the cupboard was bare.

    And so the poor dog had none.

    http://www.hubbardscupboard.or…

    She’s obviously much more intelligent the Shaffer the Shifty Shill.

  3. Gee,

    does anyone still think that a company for profit will live up to it’s obligations?

    That sounds like an oxymoron.

  4. Howard Shaffer is clearly wrong, and $40 million won’t hack it.

    Recent testimony from DPS witnesses in Docket 7862 concerning the costs of NON-RADIOLOGICAL site restoration at VY, i.e. that portion of “decommissioning” which clearly falls OUTSIDE of NRC’s purview reached a bottom line estimate of $94.3-126.2 million.  (Surebuttal testimony of Warren K. Brewer and Gregory A. Maret for the Department of Public Service, dated April 29)

    Shafer is probably correct that to argue that one can reasonably assume that if there’s any deficiency in the decommissioning fund — and given where the Fund is currently in relation even to Entergy’s cost estimates, that’s a virtual certainty, then the NRC will attempt to force Entergy to make up any difference necessary to complete radiological decommissioning. That, and only that, is NRC’s mandate.  (And of course, there’s no guarantee that NRC’s efforts will succeed. Entergy has hidden the plant behind a stunning multitude of corporate veils which no living mortal seems to comprehend).

    In such a situation, the likelihood of there remaining ANY funds at all to complete further non-radiological site restoration or “greenfielding,” it seems to me, is vanishingly small: in the real world, zero.  In other words, we seem incredibly likely to have a $100 million liability with NO funding source attached to it.

    So, as things stand now, depending on the value of the site at the time, either Entergy will be well-positioned to simply leave the mess to the State as a parting gift (Parting is such sweet sorrow) or a new owner will have to find enough value in the site to undertake the remaining work voluntarily.

    It’s long past time for legislative action.

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