Pilgrim is Marginal
Anti-nukers, congressmen fret over Entergy finances, requested subsidies
By RICHIE DAVIS
Recorder Staff
Monday, August 25, 2014
(Published in print: Tuesday, August 26, 2014)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently reopened a year-old petition from anti-nuclear groups concerned about Entergy Corp.’s financial ability to safely operate its nuclear plants, including Vermont Yankee.
The original petition, filed before Entergy announced plans to shut the 620-megawatt Vernon, Vt., reactor at the end of 2014 for economic reasons, had called for NRC staff to seek detailed financial information from Entergy Corp., but after the company balked, arguing such scrutiny was beyond NRC’s purview, the commissioners backed down.
After a letter last November from Congressmen Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders of Vermont to the NRC the agency has again sought financial information from Entergy.
The congressmen said “financial distress and the failure to maintain sufficient operating funds would be expected to signal the potential for future degradations in safety brought about by a licensee’s need to conserve funding.”
Meanwhile, Entergy last month reported a 55 percent decline in second-quarter earnings compared to the corresponding period last year, forcing it to eliminate 800 jobs nationwide.
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