MONTPELIER (AP) — The Douglas administration asked another federal panel Friday to look into a safety concern related to Vermont Yankee's proposed power boost.
The Department of Public Service asked the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent branch of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to look at the issue.
Entergy Nuclear wants to boost by 20 percent the amount of power produced at the Vernon reactor. The state says it wants the advisory committee to review an issue involving pressure inside the reactor in the event of an accident.
Entergy has requested credit for containment overpressure to allow emergency core cooling pumps to operate in the event of an accident following the uprate. The state is questioning whether Entergy is maintaining a sufficient safety margin.
The Department of Public Service already has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission itself to hold a full hearing on the issue.
"Requesting the (advisory committee) to review the containment overpressure issue in addition to requesting a hearing on the issue is a second avenue to having our questions resolved," said Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien. "We want to make sure that Vermont Yankee is safe if an uprate of power output is allowed."
The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards is a group of 11 individuals with a wide variety of engineering expertise that provides independent reviews on the safety of nuclear power plants and the adequacy of proposed safety standards. It will review Entergy's uprate request.
The Department of Public Service has also asked the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to have one of its meetings regarding Vermont Yankee in the vicinity of the plant.
Entergy is committed to maintaining a cooperative and constructive dialogue with Vermont’s Department of Public Service, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff and independent experts during the ‘uprate’ process.
Increasing Vermont Yankee’s generating capacity by 20% will help assure Vermont’s energy future is bright for years to come. The process – called an uprate – will provide enough clean-air electricity for an additional 100,000 households.
The 'uprate' involves upgrading the equipment at Vermont Yankee without increasing the size of the facility. This is important to Vermonters because the state will need more electricity in coming years. The uprate will supply a portion of that need with additional clean, low-cost electricity that will not require building additional power plants or the associated transmission lines.
