(worth discussion. – promoted by JulieWaters)

At the risk of posting too much Entergy Vermont Yankee stuff there is an article in the New York Times business section reviewing the debate swirling around aging Vermont Yankee.It is fitting to see this in the business section as it was nukes loss of profitability that almost killed them off once and maybe it will again,if political pressure can change policies that encourage keeping these dinosaurs running .

The Times article is complete with the now classic image of the collapsed cooling baffles from last Summer.New York State is in the midst of an wrestling with Entergy over its effort to build a shell company that includes Yankee and the old Indian Point reactors.Wisely New York’s attorney General is opposing this spin-off and re-licensing  .If any New Yorkers were unaware of the aging Vermont Yankee’s problems this may enlighten them regarding the debate in Vermont .

May 28, 2008

In Vermont, a Debate Swirls Around an Aging Nuclear Plant

New York Times

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – After part of a cooling tower collapsed last August at Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, the company that runs it blamed rotting wooden timbers that it had failed to inspect properly. The uproar that followed rekindled environmental groups’ hopes of shutting down the aging plant…….

The proposed closing, albeit a long shot, has gained some support this year among Vermont politicians. The discussion here is bringing into sharp relief a conflict between two objectives long held by environmental advocates: combating nuclear power and stopping global warming.

Andrew Perchlik, director of Renewable Energy Vermont, a group that promotes clean power, speaking about the prospect of the plant’s closing. He faulted the state government and utilities for not focusing earlier on renewable energy, saying if they had done so, “we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

Like other plants nationwide, Vermont Yankee is seeking a 20-year extension of its operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal body that oversees the country’s reactor fleet. A decision, which could allow the plant to keep operating until 2032, is expected later this year. Several utilities, encouraged by the federal government, are considering building nuclear reactors for the first time in three decades.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05…

They say you never know the exact moment the tide changes….

Poor ticket sales, expected protests scuttle Bush-McCain fundraiser at Phoenix Convention Center

Phoenix Business Journal via TPM

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Bush’s Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area.

..That quote was toward the end of a Rutland Herald article about getting the malfunctioning crane back up and functioning. Headlined :Yankee analyzes crane test data …I would think the real story is the increased radiation readings coming from the cask.Enough concern existed to check monitors at the local school .A little bit more about the aging Vermont Yankee crane “mishap” last week creeps out.The only mention of specific radiation levels is those at the frencline not near the cask or in the plant .

The cask involved in last week’s incident is still missing its permanent outer shield and as a result is emitting slightly higher levels of radioactivity into the reactor building.

Workers are using additional precautions around the cask, according to Williams, and the additional radioactivity is remaining in the reactor building.

Sharon Moffatt, acting health commissioner, said Thursday new tests conducted by Vermont Emergency Management earlier in the day showed there was no increase in fenceline radiation emitted by the plant.

Moffatt said she consulted with Bill Irwin, the Department of Health radiological health expert, about the data collected by people in the field. She said that the radiological monitor at the nearby Vernon Elementary School was also checked to make sure it was functioning properly.

“It confirmed that the readings were normal, and within the background range,” she said, of 10 to 15 microroentgen per hour readings.

“We reviewed the data and we’re not seeing any elevations or reasons for concern,” she said.

The old Ram stands looking down over rockslides,stupidly triumphant.I blink. I stare .”Scat! ” I hiss.”Go back to your cave ,go back to your cowshed-whatever.”

He cocks his head like an elderly ,slow witted king,considers the angles,decides to ignore me.I stamp.I hammer the ground with my fists.I hurl a skull-size stone at him .He will not budge .I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and I let out a howl so unspeakable that the water at my feet turns sudden ice and even myself am left uneasy.but the ram stays;the season is upon us.And so it begins another year of idiotic war.

The pain of it ! The stupidly!

With apologies to the late John Gardner

(Was gonna do a VY diary this morning, but didn’t have time… fortunately, BP has provided another alternative. – promoted by odum)

The Rutland Herald and VPR report today about New York State looking into Entergy spinning off another business entity to own and take cover for two of it’s aging nuclear power plants in New York.Another brick in the wall of liability deflection they are building .Look at this pattern and does anybody think that Vermont won’t get stuck solidly in the end  with the cost of Vermont Yankee decommissioning ? Gov.Douglas handed Entergy a big favor when he vetoed the decommissioning bill .This should be a major issue in the coming(on-going)campaign.

This story is Louisiana not Vermont or New York  but Entergy none the less.I have read this several times and still can’t be sure that the rate payers aren’t losing,but I can be sure that Entergy is gaining .I can imagine a plan similar in complexity but much bigger in volume at the time of the aging Vermont Yankee’s final decommissioning .

The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Thursday chose underwriters for the $1 billion loan to repay Entergy Corp. for its cost to get the lights back on after the 2005 hurricanes.The $1 billion goes to repay Entergy for restoring power after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, plus to set up a reserve to fund repairs in future storms.The bond would be repaid by a surcharge added to the monthly utility bill of the 1 million customers of Entergy Gulf States LCC, which includes the Baton Rouge area, and Entergy Louisiana LLC.

State Treasurer John Kennedy said that most typical homes could expect to see a $6 increase in their monthly bill. A typical residence uses about 1,400 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

The Bond Commission chose three firms – Citi, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan – to handle the sale of the bonds.State Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete, said he was concerned that Morgan Stanley already has a relationship with Entergy. He asked that if Morgan Stanley handles this bond that it agree not do business with Entergy for 10 years.

Entergy proposed a quasi-government agency collect the surcharges and repay the investors who bought the bonds. That method could mean Entergy does not have to pay taxes – about $281 million – on the bond proceeds.Entergy and the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, say the tax-exempt structure lowers the cost Entergy customers have to repay.

The company agreed to lower the amount owed by customers by $40 million. If the IRS agrees to the tax savings in the future, then Entergy will split those savings 60 percent for the customers and 40 percent for the company.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/ne…

 What will it take to get Gov.Jim Douglas out of bed with Entergy and  wake up for the safety of Vermonters ?



NRC hits Entergy with security violation



By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

BRATTLEBORO – The owners of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have been cited for security violations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The nature of the violations is not disclosed to the public because of security concerns, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC.

“We don’t talk about the findings,” Sheehan said. “Whenever it’s related to security it’s serious.”

“As always, our inspectors will not leave the site until a security issue has either been fully addressed or compensatory measures put in place pending the completion of corrective actions,” he added.

Jason Gibbs, Gov. James Douglas’ spokesman, didn’t return a call for comment about the security  breach.

further on they note .

..the security violation occurred in February, and he would only say that it did not involve “an inattentive security officer.”

I wonder how this news would have been received during some of the decommissioning hearings. http://www.rutlandherald.com/a…

Legislative showdown ………

The reasoning would be similar to the logic behind IRV, which the public has already been somewhat primed with.

With a two way race or a stronger candidate this wouldn’t be needed and in some ways is making lemonade out of a structurally difficult situation. There is a certain elegance to having the Progressive candidate Pollina argue against a kind of IRV voting variant…hoisted on his own petard IRV.We have two leftist candidates and with the recent acknowledged 180 degree shift from some Democrats on this strategy it sounds like an idea whose time has come according to powers that be.  

Two lines taken from a short Free Press article this morning. Will Dems, Progressives unite? There is some speculation about Pollina for Lt.Gov.but the evidence is slim that such a thing will come about .I forget who said this about relationships .. they are like a shark if you don’t swim forward it dies ..what we have here is a dead shark.

Pollina argues that Democrats have been unable to beat Douglas the last three elections without a Progressive in the race. “Democrats alone have not been able to beat Jim Douglas. You can either repeat that strategy or try another,” he said.                              

Peter Galbraith, a Democrat who considered running for governor but turned his support instead to Symington, said he had two conversations with Pollina last fall about efforts to work together. They agreed to keep in touch, Galbraith said, but Pollina ended up announcing his candidacy without getting back to Galbraith.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

High fuel costs have driven home some of the realities of oil dependency, and raised awareness of Global warming. Smaller high mileage,hybrid and fuel efficient cars sales have risen.The magic of the market place may offer a solution to this or at least mitigate the growing awareness .Another fuel related holiday of sorts while at the same time clearing the new car lots of all the future dinosaurs. Although this plan as I understand it covers all models except the Viper and other zoom zoom cars .

Some analysts say it offers about the same or less money out for Chrysler as some of their cash incentive plans.It is this kind of thing that continues to mask the problem and put the solutions off for another day .But it will move those vehicles off the lots perhaps .

DETROIT – Chrysler LLC announced a new incentive program this week that will allow customers to lock in the price of gasoline at $2.99 a gallon for three years when purchasing most of the automaker’s new vehicles.

The automaker and its truck-heavy lineup have been hit hard as the price of gasoline has skyrocketed and buyers have shifted away from trucks to more fuel-efficient cars.

Chrysler executives say the new program is aimed at giving customers greater peace of mind regarding the volatility of gas prices – a major issue customers are bringing up to dealers across the country.

It includes most of the automaker’s vehicles, including its minivans, Dodge Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV……………………

Under Chrysler’s plan, the guaranteed price covers an annual allotment of gallons based on 12,000 miles divided by the average mileage per gallon of the purchased vehicle.

..At $2.99 a gallon, drivers of the two-wheel-drive Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, which gets a combined 16 miles per gallon, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, could see a savings of $465 over 12,000 miles, based on the current average cost of gasoline.As the price of gasoline increases, so do the savings.

 

From the Times Argus

Take average MPG of any vehicle, divide into 12,000 miles and you get an annual allocation of gallons of fuel, for each of three years. For Example: Dodge Caliber, 24 MPG average. The customer’s card is allocated 500 gallons of unleaded fuel for each of three years. Total value is 1,500 gallons of gas x (price of gas – $2.99).  

from     http://www.silobreaker.com/Doc…

Following the end of the legislative session, some lawmakers bemoaned the fact that they had not done anything significant to curb the rise of property taxes…………

….In fact, there is little the Legislature can do to restrain property taxes because property taxes are mainly a local tax used for local purposes.

……..Also this year the Douglas administration proposed cutting money sent to cities and towns for roads and bridges, a step which would have added to the property tax burden.  Democrats in the Legislature restored some of those cuts.

This from the Rutland Herald editorial today.I wish they had made a much bigger point of Douglas budget cutting proposal that would have added to the property tax .Democrats restore proposed cuts that would have increased property tax burden. Certainly a suitable emphasis for this topic.

Link to article …http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/OPINION/805060308/1038/OPINION01