Building new pipelines could help relieve the pressure, but that's easier said than done in densely populated areas. Ironically, as some Vermont residents have protested nuclear energy, others have protested building natural gas pipelines through their towns and wilderness. The potential for a stalemate has energy officials worried that energy price spikes will continue to threaten New Englanders thanks to the region's overdependence on a single energy source. Those fears have been proven correctjust a few days into 2015.

Vermont Yankee has generated about 4% of New England's annual electricity supply since 2007, so it's loss isn't meaningless. However, the region has lost more than a nuclear plant to natural gas. Dominion Resources closed its 750-MW Salem Harbor coal power plant in mid-2014, while two regional oil-burning power plants owned by NRG Energy and Exelon have converted to natural gas.

In all, New England will close more than 1,369 MW of generating capacity between 2013 and 2016 -- most coming from Vermont Yankee and Salem Harbor. The region will add 1,193 MW of capacity in the same span, which will mostly be comprised of wind and natural gas.

However, wind power does not generate power as consistently (capacity factor) as baseload sources such as nuclear and coal, which means more generation capacity (MW) is needed to generate the same amount of electricity. To help fill the gap, regional utilities have renewed supply contracts with Hydro-Quebec to import up to 225 MW of hydroelectric energy from Canada through 2038. While clean and green, the starting electricity price is a whopping $0.581 per kWh. By comparison, average electricity prices for residential customers in New Englandwere $0.178 per kWh last fall.

How much will it cost to decommission Vermont Yankee?

Plenty of headlines will answer that question -- it's $1.24 billion -- but few go into the details. Roughly $817 million will go toward early termination of the power plant's operating license, while $425 million will go toward fuel management beginning in 2016 and site restoration in 2073.

However, what most people fail to realize is that every nuclear power plant in the United States pays into the national Nuclear Decommissioning Trust, or NDT, with every watt of energy produced for its entire lifetime. Entergy has already contributed $643 million into the NDT for Vermont Yankee. After assuming a 2% growth rate for its portion of the trust over the remainder of the decommissioning process, Entergy will have a total of $1.56 billion to throw at decomissioning costs. That's 126% of the total costs, meaning it won't cost shareholders or taxpayers a penny.

And while many are quick to point out that the United States has no long-term solution for nuclear wastes, consider that several Generation IV reactors (the world has only deployed up to Generation III reactors commercially) are capable of consuming nuclear wastes. Better yet, some are small enough to fit inside current nuclear sites. I have a funny feeling Vermont Yankee hasn't seen it's last nuclear reactor operate just yet.

Is nuclear power uneconomical?

It has certainly become less economical in recent years, but determining the economics depends on how you calculate the value of nuclear power and what variables are included. For instance, building large-scale nuclear power plants is prohibitively costly upfront, but the majority of next-generation reactors are small modular reactors, or SMRs, which can be built and operated for a fraction of the costs of traditional reactors. Babcock & Wilcox and General Electric are among the companies pushing SMRs through regulatory and licensing protocols with first deployment expected in the next 15 years.

Governments and investors must determine what value to place on the ability to avoid carbon emissions with nuclear given new climate change policies and emissions goals. Additionally, how power is sold must also be taken into account. Entergy doesn't have the pricing flexibility of regional utilities, which can generate and sell power to customers. Entergy was forced to sell power from Vermont Yankee to utilities for fixed prices in regulated contracts that capped its profit potential. According to the Energy Information Administration:

Entergy operated Vermont Yankee as an independent power producer (also called a merchant generator), meaning that the costs associated with running or maintaining the plant cannot be recovered through regulated cost-of-service rates.

Is it really that surprising that a 42-year-old power plant of any kind is challenged by sleeker, newer investments? Remember, even the newest natural gas power plants built in 2015 will face unpredictable risks by 2057.

What does it mean for investors?

Entergy's decision to decommission Vermont Yankee should serve as a reminder to energy investors that energy markets are in a state of change. The nuclear plant was too costly to maintain and operate, not surprising for a 42-year-old power plant, but expanding the region's natural gas pipelines will cost residents, too.

While power generators in New England rush to close older power plants to build new natural gas capacity, they may just be substituting more expensive power production with more volatile supply. Both translate into higher costs, which means the market has yet to reach an equilibrium -- perhaps pointing to opportunities for investors. There really is no perfect short-term solution for New England.