The Vermont Public Utility Commission is giving extra time to the town where the now-retired Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is located to file testimony on the station’s proposed sale from Entergy to NorthStar Group Services.
The PUC on Tuesday agreed to the request from the town of Vernon’s Planning and Development Commission for two additional weeks to file testimony in the case. The deadline, which had been Aug. 30, has been extended until Sept. 13.
The town had noted that it had recently brought on legal counsel in the matter, and also stated that none of the other parties in the sale opposed the extension. Most other parties will still be required to file their initial testimony by Aug. 30, according to the PUC.
The town will also get until Sept. 20 to file first-round discovery requests for documents related to the deal. Other non-petitioners will be required to file such requests by Sept. 7.
Entergy closed Vermont Yankee at the end of 2014 and in November 2016 announced plans to sell the plant to New York City-based NorthStar for decommissioning.
The PUC conducted an information session and public hearing on the proposed sale early this year. A second public hearing is tentatively set for Jan. 4 in Vernon.
One to two weeks of evidentiary hearings are currently scheduled to start the week of Jan. 22 in Montpelier.
On the federal level, Entergy filed a license transfer application for Vermont Yankee with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February. The nuclear plant operator has said that it hopes the regular will conclude its review by the end of this year.
Entergy said in its last quarterly earnings report that it hopes to secure approval of the Vermont PUC in the second quarter of 2018. It would then close the sale by the end of next year.
