N.Y. nuclear plant won't close, owner says

Michael Risinit and Eric Shilling | The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News

BUCHANAN, N.Y. — Factors prompting Entergy Corp. to shut down its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant don't exist at its Indian Point plant here, company officials said.

Low wholesale energy prices, high costs and an artificially suppressed energy market led to the decision to shutter Vermont Yankee at the end of 2014, Entergy (ETR) on Tuesday said. The company has no plans to shutter Indian Point.

In a related development, a former second in command in security operations at the plant filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging problems at the plant and retaliation when he reported the problems to superiors.

"The place is not able to defend from a terrorist attack," said Jason Hettler, 38, of Port Jervis, N.Y. "I would disagree with that if you had competent people."

Hettler said he resigned earlier this month so he could receive unemployment benefits after being suspended June 7 for voicing his concerns. He also said others in security would falsify documents and internal reports to avoid problems with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. His suit does not request a specific amount for damages.

Indian Point, about 50 miles north of Manhattan, has two operating reactors and produces about 2,000 megawatts of electricity. A third reactor was permanently shut down in 1974. The plant employs about 2,000.

Entergy would not comment on the lawsuit but a year ago said that it had spent $100 million upgrading security at the plant since Sept. 11, 2011.

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The Vermont Yankee plant near Brattleboro, Vt., produces about 620 megawatts of electricity and employs about 650 workers. Because of different regional regulations, Indian Point is paid more for its capacity to generate energy than Vermont Yankee, officials said.

"Indian Point hasn't got the same challenges Vermont Yankee has," said Bill Mohl, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

Anti-nuclear activists in Vermont applauded Entergy's decision. The environmental group Riverkeeper, a longtime Indian Point foe, said the New York plant's own financial pressures likely will lead to its closure.

Those include costs to strengthen its aging infrastructure and meet various state and federal requirements. Indian Point's 40-year operating licenses expire this month and in 2015, and Entergy has applied for 20-year extensions.

"The economics of this plant are not going to end up any better than Vermont Yankee," Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay said.

Entergy dismissed Riverkeeper's assessment.

Indian Point also is facing a $1.52 billion lawsuit filed by another former plant security official, Clifton "Skip" Travis, who alleged that the plant had a lax security culture. Travis' suit is pending in New York State Supreme Court.

Vermont Yankee is the latest addition to the list of shuttered reactors across the country. The owners of four other reactors this year said they would not reopen their plants or would close them permanently because of cheap electricity prices or costly repairs.

Contributing: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press and The Associated Press

Entergy's nuclear power plants

The New Orleans-based utility owns and operates 11 reactors in nine locations in the eastern half of the United States. It provides management services to Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, Neb.

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Source: Entergy Nuclear