Vermont Energy Partnership comments on Vermont Yankee reliability report

In conjunction with a report from the Public Oversight Panel conducting the comprehensive vertical audit and reliability assessment of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Facility, Brad Ferland, President of the Vermont Energy Partnership issued the following statement.
This is another thorough and exhaustive study that shows Vermont Yankee should be part of the state s energy future. The bottom line is the report states the plant is reliable and that this reliability can be maintained.
The more than 6,000 hours of work involved in this study follows approximately 20,000 hours of inspections the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has undertaken with respect to the plant s license renewal application, as well as exhaustive, regular, annual safety inspections.
Furthermore, numerous independent studies have found that Vermont Yankee is critical to ensuring Vermont has low-cost power and that the state continues to maintain one of the country s lowest carbon footprints on both an absolute and per capita basis.
As it is critical for Vermont s economy to maintain the low cost, clean, reliable power that Vermont Yankee provides, the Vermont Legislature can send out a positive message that the state is open for business and that consumers will continue to have low-cost power by an affirmative vote that it is in the public interest of the state that the plant continue to operate.
The Vermont Energy Partnership (www.vtep.org) is a diverse group of more than 90 business, labor, and community leaders committed to finding clean, affordable and reliable electricity solutions to ensure Vermont stays a great place to live and work. Our mission is to educate policy makers, the media, businesses, and the general public about why electricity is imperative for prosperity, and about the optimal solutions to preserve and expand our electricity network. Entergy, owner of Vermont Yankee, is a member of the Vermont Energy Partnership.