Speaker Smith and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin today sent a letter to Entergy Corporation to inform them that it will be very difficult for the Vermont General Assembly to act on the question of continued operation of the Vermont Yankee plant unless a power purchase agreement is reached between Entergy and Vermont utilities before November 1, 2009.
The letter is pasted below.
July 28, 2009
Mr. Jay Thayer
C/O MacLean, Meehan and Rice
45 Court St
Montpelier, Vt 05602
Dear Mr. Thayer:
We are writing to inform you that it will be exceedingly difficult for the Vermont General Assembly to act in 2010 on the question of continued operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station unless a power purchase agreement between Vermont utilities and Entergy is filed with the Vermont Public Service Board before November 1, 2009.
We have established this firm deadline in order to allow sufficient time for an orderly and thorough review of any agreement by the Public Service Board and then by the Vermont General Assembly.
Vermont Yankee has provided significant benefits to the people of the State of Vermont. Unfortunately, these benefits have been overshadowed by recent examples of operational missteps that have given us, and many Vermonters, serious pause about continued operation of the plant from a reliability standpoint.
Even if those reliability concerns are resolved in the plant s favor, the Vermont General Assembly cannot in good conscience approve continued operation of Vermont Yankee without a thorough analysis of the economic impact of continued operation compared with other current and emerging alternative power supplies. The contract and its details are critical to the central issues of economic relative to the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant that the legislature must consider.
We have established this deadline in a spirit of cooperation, not confrontation. We know that you have a complex negotiation to complete in uncertain financial times. The State of Vermont also faces many financial challenges that will drain our time and energy during the 2010 session. We are determined that all of our decisions in 2010 be based on good information that is well analyzed. To achieve that goal, we must insist on the schedule set out above for completion of your power purchase agreement with Vermont utilities.
Sincerely,
Senator Shumlin
President Pro Tem
Representative Smith
Speaker of the House
Source: Shumlin's office