Home
Energy Net's Library tagged → View Popular
VPR News: Lawmakers, Regulators Question Yankee Spin Off
Lawmakers and state utility regulators are asking tough questions about a plan to spin off Vermont Yankee into a new company.
They want to know if the new corporation is taking on too much debt. And they're asking whether the company will have enough money to make major repairs and dismantle the nuclear plant after it's shut down.
VPR's John Dillon reports:
(Dillon) First the background: Entergy, the Louisiana company that owns Vermont Yankee, wants to create a new company that would own the reactor in Vernon and five other nuclear plants.
This new spin-off corporation is called Enexus. And it would control the part of Entergy's nuclear fleet that sells power to the wholesale market.
NRC cites Entergy for inspection violation: Rutland Herald Online
Entergy Nuclear's problem-plagued cooling towers have again been cited by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, this time for a low-level safety violation of the towers' inspection program.
A recent federal inspection of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor revealed the low-level safety violation, which involves the inspection procedure at the cooling towers, Entergy Nuclear announced late Monday.
The problem earned Entergy Nuclear a "green" finding from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the lowest level of safety problems. The highest is red.
Vermont Yankee's cooling towers have been the source of numerous problems at the Vernon reactor during the past two years, including the partial collapse of a portion of one of the towers in August 2007, and repeated problems in the summer of 2008.
Entergy CEO: Possibility of New Entergy Nuclear Builds in Southeast Is Faint :: POWER Magazine
Entergy Corp. reportedly won’t pursue new nuclear builds in the U.S. Southeast because of lower demand seen after Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, the recession, and abundant but unused independent power generation in the region, the company’s CEO J. Wayne Leonard told reporters at this week’s Edison Electric Institute financial conference.
"[Nuclear new builds are] not off the table, but the economics are really not supportive and not likely to be supportive in the near future," Reuters reported Leonard as saying on Tuesday. “There's no need to embark on the riskiest piece of the business.”
At the end of last year, Entergy Nuclear asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to suspend reviews for potential projects at its nuclear sites at Grand Gulf, near Port Gibson, Miss., and River Bend, near St. Francisville, La.—even though Louisiana and Mississippi have passed legislation offering cost-recovery incentives to build the new reactors.
The company, the second-largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., had then said it had made the decision after “unsuccessful attempts to come to mutually acceptable business terms” with GE-Hitachi for its Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor.
UPDATE:Entergy May Try Utility Spinoff If Nuclear Plan Blocked
Entergy Corp. (ETR) remains committed to spinning off five of its nuclear power plants into a stand-alone company, but the company's chief executive suggested a possible alternative Tuesday if it can't win regulatory approval in New York.
Entergy Chairman and Chief Executive J. Wayne Leonard said the company could spin off its utility businesses into a stand-alone company to accomplish the same goal of separating its regulated utility businesses concentrated in the Southeast from its nuclear plants that sell power at market prices.
"We don't expect to go down that route, but it is a path to get you back to where you were. It just takes us longer and (requires) more regulatory approvals," said Leonard, speaking at the Edison Electric Institute's financial conference in Florida.
The New Orleans-based power company has been looking to create the nation's first stand-alone nuclear power company for two years. The deal was first stymied by the global credit freeze as Entergy needs to access billions of dollars in new debt to create the company, to be called Enexus Energy Corp. Now it's awaiting a decision from New York, where the spinoff has faced a push-back from consumer advocates and elected officials.
NRC OKs Entergy spin-off: Rutland Herald Online
Federal regulators gave two green lights to Entergy Nuclear Thursday, saying recent changes Entergy made to the proposed spin-off of its five nuclear reactors, including Vermont Yankee, did not warrant additional review.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also gave Entergy Nuclear another month next year to complete an important test of its reactor containment system in spring, a test that has already been postponed for five years.
In the case of the spin-off, which would create a company called Enexus, changes Entergy made to the deal recently won the support of the Vermont Department of Public Service, which acts as the ratepayer advocate. However, the Vermont Public Service Board still hasn't approved the spin-off. Additionally, New York State regulators also have yet to sign off on the deal.
The Associated Press: Vermont Senate chief questions Entergy spinoff
The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's future as a provider of a third of the state's electricity could be in jeopardy if the plant's owner spins it off to a newly created company, the head of the state Senate said Wednesday.
The comments from Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, a Democrat who represents Vermont Yankee's home county of Windham, came as lawmakers prepare to debate early next year whether the aging reactor should get a 20-year extension on a license currently set to expire in 2012.
Plant owner Entergy Nuclear's plan to spin off Vermont Yankee and five other reactors into a newly created company could make it a "tough sell" to get the Legislature — the only one in the country that has given itself the power to vote up or down on a nuclear license extension — to approve the continuance.
VT pol says Yankee nuke plan cound hinder license
The head of the state Senate says it will be much more difficult for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to win legislative approval for a 20 year license extension if the plant gets a new owner.
On Wednesday Senate president Pro Tem Peter Shumlin criticized the Department of Public Service for reversing itself and deciding to support a plan by Entergy Nuclear to create a new company that would own Vermont Yankee and five other nuclear plants.
Shumlin says the transaction means Vermont Yankee will no longer be owned by a financially strong company, but by a new firm with $4.7 billion in what he calls "junk bond" debt.
N.Y.: No ruling on Entergy nuclear spinoff in 2009 | LoHud.com | The Journal News
New York utility regulators likely will not decide on power provider Entergy Corp.'s plan to spin off its wholesale nuclear power generators into a separate company until 2010.
Advertisement
New Orleans-based Entergy had hoped for a decision in November on whether it may place six reactors under a separate publicly traded company Enexus Energy Corp.
But two administrative law judges for the state Public Service Commission have ruled that a determination still is needed on whether the new company will have the financial capability to run three of the units in New York: two at Indian Point in Buchanan and one at James A. Fitzpatrick in Oswego County.
PSC staff has concerns that long-term unsecured bonds issued for the spinoff might result in a low Enexus bond rating, thus limiting the new company's financial capacity.
The judges have proposed a schedule under which environmental issues dealing with the spinoff would be heard by the PSC in December, followed by a ruling in January.
Entergy spokesman Michael Burns said if the deal is approved in January, the spinoff could occur in April.
Vt. will investigate Entergy - Bennington Banner
Exactly how did Entergy get away with not monitoring the radiation emitted by spent fuel stored in dry casks at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon?
To answer that question, the Public Service Board is opening an investigation today in Montpelier. During the investigation, the PSB will also determine if penalties should be assessed against Entergy for any failure on its part to comply with board orders.
In April 2006, the PSB issued a certificate of public good allowing Entergy to store spent fuel in dry casks on a concrete pad just north of the reactor building.
At this time, there are five casks with 68 fuel assemblies each on the pad. As part of that certificate, Entergy was required to continuously monitor the temperature of the dry casks. It was also required to conduct monthly "radiation surveillance" of the casks.
"The Department of Public Service and (Entergy), in consultation with the Department of Health, will develop a protocol for reporting the results of such monitoring and surveillance to the DPS and the Department of Health," stated the certificate of public good.
But on July 31, Entergy filed a letter with the PSB reporting that though it had been monitoring the temperature of the casks, it had not initiated the required monthly radiation checks.
Associated Press: Entergy pushes to get spinoff of reactors done
Entergy Corp. has filed a proposal with utility regulators in New York state in a push to get approval of its long-running plan to spin off some of its nuclear power plants into a separate company.
Under a plan announced in late 2007, Entergy would spin off six nuclear reactors involved in the wholesale power business into a separate publicly traded company called Enexus Energy Corp.
Enexus would control five nuclear operations: Pilgrim Nuclear Station near Plymouth, Mass.; the James A. Fitzpatrick station in Oswego County, N.Y.; two units at the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County, N.Y.; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vt.; and Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Mich.
Entergy seeks to redraw safety borders: Times Argus Online
Entergy Nuclear has asked state regulators to approve a plan that would change the regulatory boundary surrounding Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which would move the spot where radiation doses are measured further away from the reactor.
Entergy, which has been buying properties bordering the Vernon reactor for the past couple of years, demolishing the homes and in some cases, donating them or the materials to the local Habitat for Humanity, said it wants the "fence-line boundary" and the "site boundary" to be the same for regulatory clarity.
The nuclear company has asked the Vermont Public Service Board for permission to make the change, which would affect the location of the air monitors the Department of Health has installed surrounding the plant for public protection.
Nuclear plant seeks OK to move uranium | lohud.com | The Journal News
Indian Point officials want to shuffle some of their used uranium fuels rods between nuclear reactors to create storage space, but federal regulators say they'll need to see a lot more details before they'll approve such a plan.
Advertisement
"This has not been done with any frequency in the United States," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. "So a lot of questions need to be answered. It is unusual and that's why it is going to take a great deal of study."
A meeting is set at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Maryland headquarters today to go over details of the proposal, which hasn't officially been submitted, Sheehan said.
Indian Point technically would be seeking a license amendment, which can take two years to complete and could involve public hearings, but the plant's owner, Entergy Nuclear, wants a fast-track version that would allow the move to be completed before a refueling outage in early 2011.
Louisiana's two Fortune 500 firms have bet big on the nuclear business - Money
Louisiana's two Fortune 500 companies have bet big on the future of nuclear power.
New Orleans' Entergy Corp. has focused on attempting to get two licenses to build new plants in Louisiana and Mississippi for its utility business, while spinning off its existing fleet of wholesale power nuclear plants in the Northeast to generate better returns for shareholders.
Those efforts have not gotten off the ground, but Entergy Corp. Chairman and CEO Wayne Leonard remains optimistic.
"The things that we're working on will ultimately happen," Leonard said.
Baton Rouge's Shaw Group, meanwhile, is building a $100 million, 600,000-square-foot factory in Lake Charles to build structural components, piping and equipment for Westinghouse Electric Co.-designed nuclear reactors. The plant is expected to open by the end of the year.
Entergy pushes ahead with Enexus spin-off - Brattleboro Reformer
By the end of July, Entergy Nuclear hopes to have an answer from New York and Vermont on whether the spin-off of six nuclear reactors into a separate holding company will be allowed to go ahead.
"We continue to see value in pursuing a spin-off of Enexus, which will have our non-utility nuclear assets," said J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chief executive officer, during an earnings call on May 4.
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which is owned and operated by Entergy, is one of the six reactors Entergy wants to spin off into a new company called Enexus.
Those six reactors are called "merchant plants" or "standalone assets" because they sell power to the open market.
Other reactors owned by Entergy Nuclear, and which will remain under its umbrella, produce power with a cost that is regulated by a government entity.
Entergy needs a certificate of public good from Vermont's Public Service Board to include Vermont Yankee in the spin-off. But if the board listens to the Department of Public Service, it won't get the certificate.
Group takes on Entergy in ad crusade - Brattleboro Reformer
A new "pro-renewable energy" organization, which was founded just last week, paid for full-page ads that ran in newspapers across the state blasting Entergy's claims that Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is safe, clean and reliable.
Wednesday's ads were sponsored by the Clean Green Vermont Alliance, which was co-founded by David Blittersdorf, a former president of the American Wind Energy Association and co-owner with his wife Jan of NRG Systems.
Other co-founders of the Clean Green Vermont Alliance include Pamela Baker of Marketing Partners and Andy Perchlik, executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont.
US Supreme Court rules on Indian Point cost-benefit analysis
Entergy Northeast, the company that owns and operates the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, may consider cost-benefit analysis with reviewing technology at the plant.
The issue at hand was environmentalist organizations’ call for the plant to convert to a closed-cycle cooling system, which they maintain would draw far fewer fish into the system and reduce the fish kill by over 95 percent.
The Riverkeeper group fought for the closed cooling system. Hudson Riverkeeper and organization President Alex Matthiessen said they are pleased that the court “agreed that EPA is not required to use cost-benefit analysis and left it up to EPA on remand to decide to what extent, if any, cost benefit analysis should be used in regulating cooling water intake structures.”
Entergy timeline for spinning off merchant nuke plants uncertain
Entergy still plans to form a separate company for its merchant nuclear generating plants, but the timeline for spinning off those assets is now undefined because of the distressed credit markets. Company executives said Tuesday that they still intend to "maximize the value" of the non-utility nuclear business. But Entergy has not moved as quickly as it had anticipated when it announced its plans in fall 2007. It said it was in a state of "rolling readiness" to complete the transaction. "This strategy enables Entergy to execute the spin-off following receipt of regulatory approvals and once the timing is right to access the credit markets," the company said in the Tuesday financial filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Entergy asks NRC to stop reviewing its new reactor applications
Entergy asked NRC January 9 to suspend the review of the utility's two new plant license applications, citing difficulties in reaching an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with vendor GE Hitachi. Entergy had filed an application for a combined construction permit-operating license, or COL, in February for an additional unit at its Grand Gulf site in Mississippi and another COL application in September for a new unit at its River Bend station in Louisiana. An Entergy spokesman said the company has asked NRC to suspend the safety review for both applications and to temporarily defer the environmental portion of those reviews.
VPR Regional News: Vermont Yankee owners won't offer state's utilities new power deal
The owners of Vermont Yankee have decided not to offer Vermont utilities a new deal on power.
Yankee faced a year-end deadline to come up with a new power contract. But the owners of the nuclear plant said the deal that's already in place is good enough for now.
VPR's John Dillon reports:
(Dillon) Entergy Vermont Yankee wants permission to run the plant for another 20 years, after its current license expires in 2012.
State proposes hefty fee hikes on nuclear plants - The Times Herald Record
State fees on nuclear power plant operators could nearly double next year under the governor’s proposed budget.
Annual fees would swell from $550,000 to $1 million per reactor, according to budget division spokesman Matt Anderson. The money collected from New York’s six reactors would be split – half funneling to the counties and local municipalities located around the reactors and the other half staying with the state, Anderson said.
Selected Tags
Related Tags
Sponsored Links
Groups interested in entergy
Diigo is about better ways to research, share and collaborate on information. Learn more »
Join Diigo