After a recent hearing on the proposed sale of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant, decommissioning hopeful NorthStar renewed calls last week for the state to reject the transaction, according to public filings.
EnergySolutions’ proposal to purchase Kewaunee Power Station from Dominion Energy “may be the worst proposal ever put before” the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC), NorthStar told the panel in a Friday filing with the commission.
The New York-based company, which muscled its way into the Kewaunee proceedings in September, raised concerns about the financial terms of EnergySolutions’ decommissioning proposal. Although the Carlton, Wisc., plant’s decommissioning trust fund has more money “than is reasonably expected” for such a process, EnergySolutions and Dominion “now seek permission to hand over nearly a billion dollars of ratepayer money with no controls, no ongoing Commission supervision, and no protection whatsoever that funds held in trust will be spent wisely or prudently,” NorthStar argued.
The company also contended that EnergySolutions was asking for a “blank check” to decommission Kewaunee rather than a fixed-price contract with financial assurances. The latter would “remove any temptation to be careless with ratepayer funds,” the filing said.
EnergySolutions has said that it could dismantle the site for around $724 million, whereas NorthStar argued that it could do the same job for roughly $500 million.
NorthStar asked WPSC Judge Michael Newmark to either reject the proposed sale or to approve it only with conditions “that ensure excess funds are in fact returned” to ratepayers.
Meanwhile, Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions said in its own brief filed with WPSC Friday that NorthStar has stepped in on proceedings because it “is disappointed it was not chosen by Dominion to decommission [Kewaunee].”
“NorthStar has been free to make unfounded claims throughout this proceeding and propose unsupported and questionable cost estimates in the record without having to be accountable for meeting contractual obligations or adhering to regulatory standards,” EnergySolutions said.
Moreover, Energy Solutions said, NorthStar’s involvement has created “discussion over a proposal to decommission [Kewaunee] itself for a fixed cost that has no basis in site specific, due-diligent [sic] cost estimation and that is of dubious integrity.”
Since NorthStar was allowed to intervene in proceedings in September, EnergySolutions has bristled at its involvement. The company urged WPSC in February to toss comments made by NorthStar CEO Scott State, who said that if Dominion had selected a decommissioning company via a competitive process, his company would have been selected for the Kewaunee job. EnergySolutions said State’s comments were “irrelevant, immaterial, and lac[k] foundation.”
