Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) today announced that two of its subsidiaries, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC (ENVY) and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI), have filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont seeking a judgment to prevent the state of Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to cease operation on March 21, 2012.
Today’s request for declaratory and injunctive relief follows the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s March 21, 2011, renewal of Vermont Yankee’s operating license authorizing the plant’s operation through March 21, 2032. The NRC’s action came after a thorough and exhaustive five-year safety and environmental review of the plant.
“We have made every reasonable effort to accommodate the state of Vermont and its officials while allowing the continued operation of Vermont Yankee – an outcome that benefits all stakeholders, including Vermont consumers and the approximately 650 men and women who work at the plant,” said Richard Smith, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities. “Despite the fact that Vermont Yankee is important to the reliability of the New England electric transmission grid, emits virtually no greenhouse gases, and provides more than $100 million in annual economic benefits to the state of Vermont, it has been made clear that state officials are singularly focused on shutting down the plant. That has left us with no other choice but to seek relief in the court system.”
In 2006, the Vermont General Assembly passed a law that invalidated a key provision of a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding signed by ENVY, ENOI and Vermont officials when the company purchased Vermont Yankee. Under that provision of the MOU, Entergy’s two subsidiaries had agreed to seek a certificate of public good from the Vermont Public Service Board if it sought to operate the plant beyond March 21, 2012. This was in accordance with the process and standard for securing the state certificate in effect at that time. As the complaint alleges, Vermont repudiated the MOU, breaching that agreement and excusing the two Entergy subsidiaries’ obligation to further comply with that specific provision. Read More
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