Beyond Nuclear's comments to DC PSC opposing Exelon Nuclear's takeover of Mid-Atlantic's Pepco

Participants in the PowerDC rally on Sept. 17, 2015, against Exelon's takeover of Pepco took a group photo before marching to DC Mayor Muriel Bowwer's officeBeyond Nuclear has joined efforts for many months with the PowerDC coalition, and many others, in opposing Exelon Nuclear's takeover of the Mid-Atlantic utility Pepco. Exelon regards Pepco's D.C., MD, and Mid-Atlantic ratepayers as a cash cow, for funneling a steady revenue stream back to IL, to prop up five uncompetitive (not to mention dirty, dangerous, and age-degraded) atomic reactors there.

The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia had rejected the takeover in August 2015 because it was not in the public interest. But Washington, D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowswer, reached a secretive, back room deal with Exelon's lobbyists, sending the matter back to the D.C. PSC. Public comments are due by Dec. 18, 2015.

Beyond Nuclear testified at oral hearings before the D.C. PSC in mid-November. It has also submitted the following written comments, in an attempt to shine a light on Exelon Nuclear's rogue corporate behavior, and toxic track record:

Dec. 7, 2015: Beyond Nuclear's comments regarding Exelon's abuse of its own workers, which is documented in Dreux Richard's March 11, 2013 article in the Japan Times, "Toxic management erodes safety at 'world's safest' nuclear plant: Echoes of Fukushima at Exelon's flagship Byron Station in Illinois." This should serve as a cautionary tale for the health, safety, and wellbeing of Pepco workers in and around Washington, D.C., that of their families, and of the community at large, and is reason enough to block Exelon's takeover of Pepco.

Dec. 7, 2015: Beyond Nuclear's comments opposing Exelon takeover of Pepco, due to Exelon's abuse of health, safety, and environmental whistleblowers. The comments tell the story of Commonwealth Edison/Exelon whistleblower Oscar Shirani, who made public major quality assurance and safety regulation violations involving Exelon's containers for ultra-hazardous high-level radioactive waste. The comments also reference U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) whistleblower, Dr. Ross Landsman's, support for Shirani's allegations. Ultimately, Exelon made Shirani pay a high personal price for his whistleblowing. This should serve as a cautionary tale for Pepco employees, who have the courage and integrity to do the right thing, to protect public health, safety, and the environment, when their employer prioritizes profits over these principles. Such whistleblower abuse is a significant reason for the D.C. PSC to block Exelon's takeover of Pepco, for the public's health, safety, and environment is at stake.

Dec. 9, 2015: Beyond Nuclear comments opposing Exelon takeover of Pepco, due to Exelon's demonstrated willingness to harm the health, safety, and environment of its neighbors, including children, in its pursuit of profits. (See the Word version of the comments, for live URL links to relevant documents.) The comments tell the story of the Sauer family of Morris, IL, whose 7-year-old daughter Sarah was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood brain cancer. Morris is the location of Exelon's three reactor Dresden nuclear power plant, as well as the GE-Morris high-level radioactive waste storage facility. The Sauer's research revealed that Exelon's Braidwood nuclear power plant, not far from Morris, had repeatedly leaked massive amounts of hazardous radioactive water (contaminated with tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen), measuring millions of gallons at a time, into the local drinking water supply. Exelon, with the complicity of the State of IL Environmental Protection Agency, had concealed the leaks from the public for a decade. Sarah's father, Joe Sauer, a medical doctor, documented alarmingly high cancer rates in and around Morris and Braidwood, significantly higher than elsewhere in IL as a whole. The concern is that a toxic, rogue corporation like Exelon, willing to harm its neighbors in IL, may very likely be wiliing to put its new neighbors in the Mid-Atlantic at risk, if allowed to takeover Pepco. This should not be allowed.

Dec. 10, 2015: Beyond Nuclear's comments opposing Exelon's takeover of Pepco, due to Exelon's demonstrated "nuclear war against renewables," in an attempt to "kill the competition," both in IL and nationally -- for which behavior, it has earned the dubious distinction of being the only company ever kicked out of the American Wind Energy Association! Exelon's behavior is averse to D.C.'s cutting edge vision for green, clean, sustainable energy, so it should not be allowed to takeover Pepco and undermine D.C.'s hard won progressive energy policies. (See the Word version of the comments, for live URLs linking to relevant documents.)

For more information on Exelon's nefarious behavior, see Nuclear Energy Information Service of Chicago's exposés on Exelon's attempts to rob ratepayers and taxpayers in IL of more than $1.5 billion. NEIS has been watchdogging Exelon, and its predecessor Commonwealth Edison, for 35 years.

You can take action to stop the Exelon takeover of Pepco. PowerDC has a webform you can personalize, to urge the DC Public Service Commission to stand strong, and once again reject the Exelon takeover of Pepco as not in the public interest!

"Dynegy, Talen: We’ll Sue" to stop FirstEnergy bailout

As reported by Ted Caddell in RTO Insider's article "Merchant Generators Lead Opposition to FirstEnergy-Ohio Settlement," when it comes to "picking winners and losers," Beyond Nuclear has some diverse allies in opposing a risky 20-year license extension at the problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor, when it comes compliments of an outrageous, multi-billion dollar ratepayer bailout:

Talen joined Dynegy in promising to contest the deal in court if it is approved by the commission.

“As you are aware [PPL, one of Talen’s predecessors] led successful legal challenges in the federal courts against generation subsidy initiatives in New Jersey and Maryland,” Talen spokesman Todd Martin said Thursday. Before PPL’s generation assets were spun off to form Talen, the company won court rulings voiding PPAs obtained by Competitive Power Ventures for two merchant plants. (See CPV Md. Plant Goes Forward Despite FERC Ruling.)

“We believe states with competitive electricity markets must let those markets operate without interference or subsidies, and should not in effect be picking winners and losers,” Martin said.

P3 President Glen Thomas said PUCO staff’s “about face” represents “corporate welfare at its worst.”

“Forcing customers to buy overpriced electricity from uncompetitive plants to deliver windfall profits to FirstEnergy is a holiday offering that only the Grinch could support,” said Trey Addison of AARP Ohio.

“This bailout would leave Ohio locked into outdated and costly coal and nuclear plants, when we should instead be working to transition to a cleaner and more competitive energy system,” said Shannon Fisk, managing attorney with Earthjustice. Fisk was involved in settlement negotiations on behalf of the Sierra Club but withdrew in protest just before Thanksgiving.

Also weighing in was anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear, which blasted any deal that would result in the continued operations of FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant. “The ratepayers of Ohio would be gouged additional billions of dollars on their electricity bills to prop up the uncompetitive Davis-Besse atomic reactor, effectively being forced to fund 20 more years of radioactive Russian roulette at the problem-plagued atomic reactor,” Beyond Nuclear spokesman Kevin Kamps.

As revealed on a radio interview hosted by Harvey Wasserman of Solartopia fame, Shannon Fisk of Earthjustice indicated that Sierra Club will continue to challenge the PUCO staff-FirstEnergy sweetheart deal, as by urging the PUCO Commissioners to not approve it. As with Dynegy and Talen, further legal action is also under consideration.

Decreasing economies of scale put pressure on remaining Entergy Nuclear merchant reactors

As reported by Syracuse.com, Entergy Nuclear's top executive in charge of its fleet of merchant nuclear power plants, William Mohl, has admitted that its remaining atomic reactors are under increasing pressure, due to loss of economies of scale:

"We don't have any immediate plans (to change direction) on Indian Point, but you start to have to think about what will you do down the road if you have a single asset in the Northeast,'' he said. "You just have less economies of scale. We're looking at that and what we need to do in that regard.''

Although his context was Entergy's two unit Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City, in light of Entergy's recent rapid-fire decisions to close FitzPatrick in upstate NY (as early as a year from now, but hopefully sooner), and Pilgrim in MA (in mid-2019, but hopefully sooner), the same logic applies at Entergy's age-degraded, problem-plagued Palisades atomic reactor in MI as well:

Entergy is preparing to decommission three of its so-called "merchant" nuclear reactors, each of which sells power in unregulated wholesale markets in the Northeast. After the closures of Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim and FitzPatrick, Entergy Wholesale Commodities will have just three merchant reactors left – two at Indian Point and one in Michigan.

(Note that Entergy also operates the Cooper atomic reactor in Nebraska, although it is owned by Nebraska Public Power District.)

Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer at Fairewinds Associates, Inc., in Burlington, VT, and Beyond Nuclear's expert witness in its Palisades legal intervention of the past year, pointed out at the time of the Pilgrim and FitzPatrick closure announcements, several weeks ago, that in addition to Vermont Yankee's actual closure about a year ago, the Pilgrim and FitzPatrick closure announcements hold deep significance for the loss of economies of scale for Entergy, across its dwindling reactor fleet.

This adds to the pressure for closure of Palisades, as well as Indian Point.

So too does the fact that, despite his absurd acrobatic back flips attempting to keep FitzPatrick open (as described in the article above; he is joined in that, unfortunately, by US Senator Schumer (D-NY)), NY Gov. Cuomo is, at least, strongly opposed to the 20-year license extension at Entergy's Indian Point Unit 2 & 3 nuclear power plant, precariously close to New York City. The State of New York recently denied Indian Point permission to keep dumping two-thirds of the heat it generates from splitting atoms (a massive amount of thermal pollution, something like the heat generated by the Hiroshima atomic bomb, per hour!) into the Hudson River.

What this means is, if Entergy wants to keep operating Indian Point, it would have to build cooling towers, at a cost of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Or take other mitigative action, such as shutting down the two reactors during fish spawning season, for several long months per year (with a consequent loss of revenues during that downtime). It would probably close Indian Point before doing any such things.

And if Indian Point, under growing pressure in New York to close, does close, that would leave Palisades standing alone, as Entergy's sole merchant reactor, after FitzPatrick and Pilgrim also retire. Which means economies of scale are completely lost. One can only hope, THAT would convince Entergy to -- at long last -- close Palisades, for economic reasons alone (never mind the ever mounting public health, safety, and environmental risks!). These include the Palisades reactor pressure vessel's age-related degradation, such as neutron radiation embrittlement risks. Ironically enough, whereas Palisades has the worst embrittlement risks in the country, Indian Point Unit 3 is not far behind (see page 5 of 15 on the PDF counter in this NRC document)!

Please note that, 2.5 years ago, Dr. Mark Cooper of Vermont Law School predicted that Entergy's entire merchant fleet was at risk of near-term permanent shutdown, for a variety of reasons. He's been proven correct about Vermont Yankee, and now Pilgrim and FitzPatrick. But he also predicted that Indian Point and Palisades were at risk of near-term permanent shutdown. Let's hope, for the sake of New York and Michigan, the Hudson River and the Great Lakes, that he is correct about them, as well. And let's keep working hard to help make this happen, sooner rather than later! As the campaign slogan of Michigan Safe Energy Future puts it, "Shutdown Before Meltdown!"

Beyond Nuclear blasts billion dollar Davis-Besse bailout as "Faustian fission" due to cracked containment risks

"Burning money" graphic by Gene Case of Avenging Angels.Beyond Nuclear has published a media release in response to FirstEnergy and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Staff announcing a settlement agreement for an eight-year, nearly $4 billion ratepayer bailout to prop up the utility's uncompetitive Davis-Besse atomic reactor, as well as a number of coal burning power plants. (See the Word version of Beyond Nuclear's media release, for live links.)

Davis-Besse had dodged more radioactive bullets over the past 40 years than any other single reactor in the U.S. But will it be so lucky for another 20-years of radioactive Russian roulette on the Great Lakes shore?

In this high-stakes, big money "game" of "Faustian fission," Mephistopheles could return in the form of a meltdown.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is poised to rubber-stamp the 2017-2037 license extension. Beyond Nuclear has helped lead the grassroots resistance against that, for the past five years.

Davis-Besse has the concrete containment fatal fracturing of a Crystal River, FL; the risky, experimental steam generator replacement of a San Onofre, CA; and the inability to compete of a Kewaunee, WI, Pilgrim, MA, and FitzPatrick, NY. So why is it still operating?! Opponents hope to accomplish "a Vermont Yankee," and "a Gentilly, Quebec," and force Davis-Besse's shutdown, before it melts down.

Update on December 2, 2015 by admin

RTO Insider, Columbus Business First, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer have reported on the PUCO Staff/FirstEnergy settlement agreement on the bailout proposal, as well as others' vehement opposition, and vow to fight on.

Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps got a letter to the editor published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, opposing the Davis-Besse bailout and calling for the reactor's shutdown.