More energy efficiency news should have Vermont voters looking hard at the Douglas administration. Unfortunately, it doesn't make Douglas look good.

For years we've enjoyed patting ourselves on the back, and with good reason. Efficiency Vermont, Vermont's energy efficiency utility, has long been the model for statewide energy efficiency programs. It is the best legacy of our prolonged and expensive flirtation with electric industry restructuring back in the 1990's. Well, that and the fact that, since we said no to restructuring, we're now paying lower electric rates than the other New England states.

The problem is, what happens to models? That's right, people follow them, and that's what's happened. It also means that if we want to keep our leadership position, we need to keep expanding and improving our efforts.

The position of the Douglas administration has been just the opposite. For years Douglas has tried to undermine Efficiency Vermont, opposing cost-effective investments in energy efficiency. Their message: we don't want to invest more in efficiency; we do want to pay higher electric bills. 

A report issued this week tells the story. As recently as last year, Vermont was ranked # 1 out of all fifty states in energy efficiency. This year our rank has dropped to # 4, with Vermont slipping behind the two states it tied for first last year, and faling behind Oregon, ranked fifth in 2007.

Now does this really make much difference? We're still pretty close to the top, right? I submit that it does make a difference. In 2003 Efficiency Vermont won a big award from the Kennedy School for Government for its groundbreaking work, and Douglas was right there in the State House, holding a ceremony to announce the award and praise the work of Efficiency Vermont. Still, when Douglas came in he appointed as Commissioner of the Public Service Department a guy who had fought against increased funding for Efficiency Vermont in the Public Service Board, and he has continued to argue against budget increases even this year.

And what's the payoff? Have you ever seen a competition in which the guys at the back of the pack were saying, “I sure hope I can catch up to the guy who's in fourth place!”? Me neither. Vermont was THE national leader on energy efficiency, and now we're not. Energy efficiency is not only good for the environment, it's good economic development. Jim=jobs? No more.

So as I say, thanks, Jim. How far do you think we're going to drop in the standings if Douglas gets another two years?

Who do you believe?

Entergy?  The NRC?  Concerned citizens like me?

I work as a paralegal specializing in nuclear safety litigation.  What does that mean?  I work with lawyers and nuclear safety experts all over the country and in Canada to hold the nuclear industry to federal and Canadian statutes and to make sure that the NRC and Canadian government are meeting their primary mission to protect public health and safety.  I am also a former nuclear industry employee.

When my firm Fairewinds Associates, Inc wrote the two white papers last year that alerted the Vermont Legislature to the shortage in the decommissioning fund, my work was criticized quite heavily in the press and in public by the Douglas Administration, Commissioner O’Brien and Entergy spokespeople who vehemently denied my firm’s concerns.

I worked all legislative session to help legislators understand the magnitude of the lack of money within the decommissioning fund, and while the Bill did pass the legislature, it was not veto proof.  Check out the legislative record.  See how your legislator voted and if they voted against the bill, ask him or her why he or she voted against protecting Vermonters from financial usury by an out of state corporation.  

Did you know that Entergy makes at least $150 million in profit per year from Vermont Yankee.  Quite a tidy sum to send to headquarters in Louisana, where CEO, J. Wayne Leonard earned a hefty $40,000,000 during the past five years, making him the 11th most highly paid utility executive in the country according to the May 2007 Forbes Magazine.

My concern has always been that without adequate money in the decommissioning fund, Vermonters will get stuck footing the bill.  

The NRC claims,

“that if there is a shortfall in the VY decommissioning fund, Entergy is on the hook,”

according to Fair Game columnist Shay Totten in this week’s Seven Days (http://www.7dvt.com/2008l-word).  

“If we determine that the growth of the funds would be insufficient to properly decommission the plant when the time comes, we can require the company to address that,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

May I remind you that NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan is the same NRC spokesperson who initially told Vermonters that the cooling tower collapse, was only a slight deformity in the wood, that is until a nuclear whistleblower slipped out the infamous pictures that told Vermonters the whole story.

And ratepayers in other states like Connecticut and Massachusetts have been forced to pay the bill left behind when Connecticut Yankee and Massachusetts Yankee Rowe were decommissioned and dismantled.  The NRC did not make the utilities clean up their own mess.  In Connecticut, for example, the ratepayers fought a court suit to try to force payment by the utility, and they still got stuck for the $500 Million shortage.

What does it mean to decommission Vermont Yankee?

Originally decommissioning Vermont Yankee meant that the plant would be shut down, slowly taken apart (dismantled), and every radioactive part and the fuel would be shipped to another location where it would be kept for the thousands of years it will take for the radiation to decay away.

When Vermont Yankee was first built, Vermonters were led to believe that it shut down in 2012, the plant would be completely dismantled and Vermont would be left with what is called a green field area — totally clean and ready for other public use.

Two critical issues have changed.  First there is no federal repository for the nuclear fuel.  So it will continue to sit there as it remains in Maine – from Maine Yankee, Massachusetts — from Yankee Rowe, and Connecticut — from Connecticut Yankee.  Second, while those sites were completely dismantled, that may not be possible with Vermont Yankee because unless the plant is shut down relatively quickly, there will be no place to ship the rest of the highly radioactive waste, like the reactor head and other contaminated materials.

Thus even if Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) is shut down in 2012, and even if there were enough money in the fund to entirely dismantle the plant and ship it elsewhere, there may be no place available to ship the carcass (as Senate President Pro-Tem Peter Shumlin rightfully calls it).  

More disturbingly, even if there is a place to ship ENVY’s dismantled carcass, the NRC which has the federal authority to trump any Vermont Law, has decided on its own that nuclear power plants can be mothballed for as long as 60 years after shutdown.  NRC calls this process SAFESTOR.  

More about SAFESTOR and other decommissioning issues in the next installment.

Over at the Times Argus you can find an interesting statement against Jim Douglas from within his administration.

Douglas Driving Workers Out

            In response to Mr. Hamlin’s letter of October 6 regarding Jim Douglas’s job cuts. As a state employee for 30 years, I agree 100 percent with what he is saying.

            Not only is Governor Douglas making cuts with no regard to how they will affect the state, he has also put people in high paying positions, given them raises, etc. and some of his appointees don’t have a clue to what they are doing.

            I have worked 30 years and was going to continue to work for state government for a year or two, but with the lack of management, the clueless people at the top of the ranks, I have decided to leave this year.

            I am not the only one making the same decision and state government is losing some very valuable talent due to this administration.

Lori Scott

Calais

Thanks to The Brad Blog for this heads up!

Montana Republicans abandoned their challenge to almost 6,000 voter registrations today, after county election officials said they would reject thousands of the challenges as invalid.

(Montana Republicans abandon voter challenges, KXMB (Montana), 10/07/08)

Kudos to the Obama campaign for stepping in to help on this one.

PS. I have found Brad Friedman of The Brad Blog a great source of information. His postings and follow ups on a wide range of issues have been tested and found true by the passing of time. Perfect? No … just one of the best.

Got to hand it to Paulson: he sure takes the cake for being a royal prick. After spending a week trashing the 'Swedish model' for rescuing the financial system, e.g. taking preferred shares rather than buying up debt, it now looks like the SOB is gonna turn around and do just that: http://time-blog.com/curious_capitalist/2008/10/treasury_prepares_for_a_tarpan.html 10 days ago he was all pissy about Barney Frank's warrant amendment, now the guy is signaling that he is gonna go whole hog and start buying equity. Buying equity protects taxpayers, punishes shareholders and also gives the market time to find a price for the bad mortgage paper – it is definitely the route to go in some cases. Too bad it took another week and another trillion or so of market cap for Paulson to get his head out of his ass…

Last year I issued two white papers regarding my concerns with Vermont Yankee’s Decommissioning Fund and the Fund Gap between the monies available and the actual cost of decommissioning.

Now today, the status of Entergy’s Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Fund since the Wall Street Meltdown were finally released.  As of September 30, 2008, ENVY’s Decommissioning Fund contains $397,035,937, which is the 2006 level of an already paltry fund.

According to the Vermont State Auditor, the Fund had been reported by DPS as delineated below:

Date                                         Amount in the Trust Fund

July 2002                                            $304,000,000

Dec 31, 2003                                       $352,718,739

Dec 31, 2004                                       $372,800,000

Sept 30, 2005                                      $380,078,031

March 31, 2006                                   $391,882,501

Sept 30, 2006                                      $402,410,980

Dec 31, 2006                                       $416,715,821

Dec. 31, 2007                                      $439,570,000

June 30, 2008                                      $413,200,000 (est)

September 30, 2008                          $397,035,937

DPS earlier reported that the funds were invested in:  Delaware Qualified Fund, Mellon Qualified Fund, Duff & Phelps Qualified Fund, Mellon NQ, Mellon MCF -NQ and Delaware NQ.

One of my concerns was that DPS reported that the rate of return from July 2002 into 2007 was about 6.75%.  In its analysis Entergy applied a growth rate of 5.54%.  [Please note that the NRC uses 5% as its cap.  I’m still wondering how that one gets by the NRC!]

Using the 5.54% growth rate noted above applied to the 12/31/2007 market valuation, the Fund would have been expected to be at approximately $464 million at Dec. 31, 2008.

It is sadly short of that figure.  The actual letter from attorneys is below the fold.  More to come from me tomorrow and Friday.

October 7,2008

Sarah D. Hofmann, Esq.

Vennont Department of Public Service

Drawer 20, 112 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05620-2601

SUBJ: Decommissioning Trust Fund for the Vennont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (the “Fund”)

Dear Sarah:

On behalf of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC, and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

(together, “Entergy VY”), this letter responds to the Department of Public Service’s (the

“Department”) request for information dated September 26, 2008 (the “Information Request”),

pursuant to 30 V.S.A. 5 206, asking Entergy VY to provide “the total market value figure for the

Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Trust Fund as of close of business on September 18,2008

and September 25, 2008.”

Following our receipt of that request, I left you a voicemail message in which I informed you

that Entergy VY does not have information that would enable it to calculate the total market

value of the Fund on those two dates without requesting and incurring the expense for a special

valuation.’ I also informed you that Entergy VY receives reports stating the total market-value

figure for the Fund monthly, that the closest date to the dates requested would be September 30,

2008, and that Entergy VY would not have the information for that date until several business

days following September 30, 2008. You left me a voicemail message indicating that the

Department would accept, as responsive to the Information Request, the total market-value

figure for the Fund as of September 30,2008.

Entergy VY accordingly responds to the Information Request as follows: As of September 30,

2008, the market value for the Fund was $397,035,937.

Let us know if the Department requires information additional to the information from Entergy

VY provided by this letter.

Very truly yours,

DOWNS RACHLIN MARTIN PLLC

Attorneys for Entergy Vermont Yankee, LLC.

PS – I will not be responding to questions tonight, not because I do not want to, but because as a Burlington Public Works Commissioner, I will be in a meeting all evening.  More to come from me tomorrow and Friday.

…questions Tuesday. Don’t forget Gov. Douglas’s  Commissioner O’Brian recently sent a sternly worded letter to the NRC suggesting they find out more about these leaks as it is “unacceptable “.Maybe they can prove it’s not just an election season ploy with some follow-up action.But we all know they are “pretty darned careful”

BRATTLEBORO – Federal regulators will hold a public meeting next week to discuss the condition of Vermont Yankee’s cooling towers, after more leaks were discovered in recent months.

Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said NRC and plant officials will be available to answer questions at Tuesday’s meeting at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

A little late for April Fools, so I guess he means it (emphasis added):

(Kinzel) Several years ago, President Bush unveiled a plan to allow workers to divert some of their Social Security tax payments to a private investment fund. Governor Jim Douglas says he liked the proposal then and he likes it now.

Douglas says many people view Social Security as part of their comprehensive retirement package and he says individuals should be allowed to decide how to invest some of their tax payments.

(Douglas) “I think the American people are a lot smarter than some give them credit for. So, I think that some kind of combination is reasonable. A voluntary option for the American people to have what’s called a defined contribution plan for a portion of their retirement funds is a reasonable one. I’ve been encouraging that at the state level, as well.”

Yeah, that would’ve worked out well if we’d gone that route. And the people who would’ve lost their social security in the current meltdown – exactly how would the Governor be handling them, now?

On the other hand, such a program may cause enough fatal heart attacks that it could ultimately limit the amount of benefits that have to be paid out.

Putting aside the policy no-brainer, this statement draws a direct line between the current incarnation of Jim Douglas – a supposedly moderate Rupublican – and the hard right politician we saw while he was in the Legislature so long ago. It should be a reminder that he’s every bit the right winger that he was then, and that he’s enough of an ideologue to refuse to question his hard-right doctrine, even in the face of the stone cold reality of what a terrible policy that would have been before, and would be in the future.

The whole point of Social Security is the “security”, after all.

This debate is like a train wreck I can’t look away from. Now I think Obama is doing fine, its just that this whole process is beginning to make me feel like reaching into my brain and pulling my head inside out. That and the neon red carpet is making me wince.

So if, like me, you need something else to think about, here’s something a co-worker brought to my attention. Sarah Silverman promoting “The Great Schlep,” described by the LA Times as:

The Jewish Council for Education and Research — a new pro-Obama political action committee — is organizing “The Great Schlep,” in which hundreds of Jews will make the Southern exodus on Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 10-13. They will travel to the Fort Lauderdale area, where they will visit their grandparents, organize political salons in their condos and eat incredibly bad food…

…Barack Obama’s trouble winning over older Jewish voters has been difficult for pollsters to explain, so I came here this week to visit my grandmother, Mama Ann, and find out what the hang-up is.

Now, I was raised a Catholic boy in Kentucky, so I ain’t the target audience, but this hit my co-worker right where he lives (or rather, where his grandparents do, I guess…)

(Nice! – promoted by Christian Avard)

Tracking numbers on Site Meter show a clear trend of growth in GMD readership.  Site visits have risen from an average of 388 per day last October to 685 last month.  Factoring out weekend viewership, which runs about half of weekdays, visits per day are about 800.

It might be interesting to review a three year trend to see how the numbers cycle up prior to an election and what happens in the months after the legislative session has ended. 

Check out the numbers below the fold. 

First, the monthly totals over the last 12 months: 

 Second, the daily numbers over the last 7 days.