Throughout their ownership of Vermont Yankee, Entergy has repeatedly
attempted to evade the responsibility of decommissioning the plant. When
first purchased, Entergy promised to assume the financial risks of
decommissioning, nuclear waste disposal, etc. At this point, the
decommissioning fund that Vermont rate-payers had been contributing to
totaled $311 million. Entergy was supposed to support this fund, but as
of 2009 they had not put any money into it.
Thus this fund had grown to only $385 million while the estimated cost
for decommissioning had reached $987 million! Rather than attempting to
rectify this problem, what was Entergy's last move of 2009? They
attempted to create a spin-off corporation called Enexus that would take
over ownership of Vermont Yankee, assuming all of its debt and thus
going bankrupt and leaving the tab for Vermont taxpayers to pick up.
The Senate has said no. No, to continuing to operate a 20-year-old
derelict nuclear reactor. No, to continuing to trust a dishonest
corporation. Now the time has come to determine how to decommission
Vermont Yankee and move towards clean energy. Clearly our state is ready
for a future free of this polluting energy source.
Walter Sainsbury
Moretown, VT
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