Vermont’s two largest utilities have filed suit against Entergy to recover costs associated with the partial collapse of cooling structures at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in 2007 and 2008.Filings in a state court by Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service allege the cooling tower problems and consequent powering down of the reactor cost ratepayers and breached a contractual obligation to use “good utility practice.” In 2007, the problems caused the plant to run at 35 percent power for 11 days, with another power reduction in 2008 for 12 days, according to a statement from the Vermont utilities. They seek $6.6 million in compensatory damages to cover associated power cost increases and lost capacity payments.In a story on vtdigger.org, a plant spokesman said he was not at liberty to comment on pending litigation.The Vermont Yankee uses a single 510 megawatt General Electric boiling water reactor. In the summer, the plant’s cooling is assisted by water from the Connecticut river passed through a series of cooling towers. Their superstructure is partially made from wood, a section of which collapsed and broke a large pipe on Aug. 21, 2007. An NRC investigation indicated over-tightened bolts and degradation by salt and fungus contributed to the collapse. The second failure occurred in July of the following year, which Green Mountain Power reported was caused by failed pipe supports.The Vermont utilities and Entergy tried to reach a settlement on the reactor slowdowns to no avail. The plaintiffs cited a pending statute of limitations as a reason for filing the suit now.
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