NRC says Vt. nuclear plant must save for closing

[FBaggins]

Federal regulators have rejected a bid by the owner of Vermont Yankee to cancel a $40 million guarantee on the fund that will pay to mothball the nuclear power plant when it closes.

Rejecting Entergy Corp's contention that a new 20-year federal license extension assures the fund will have enough money to decommission the plant, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission notified the New Orleans-based company Wednesday that its application to cancel the guarantee had been turned down. The NRC says it would be premature to cancel the payment, since the nuclear power plant in Vermont's southeastern corner may have to close in March, when its state license expires.

According to the NRC, the fund had $474 million in it as of Dec. 31, well short of the $564 million the NRC says it will take to decommission.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/08/11/business-multiutilities-us-vermont-yankee-vermont_8619304.html