And so it begins...
Inevitably, the march to shut down existing nuclear reactors after the Japan quake has begun here in Connecticut. Rep. Vickie O. Nardello, D - Prospect has sponsored legislation that would tax Millstone out of operation.
According to the JI, the new law would impose a 2¢ per kwh tax on electricity generated from Millstone. This adds up to $330 Million that Dominion power would have to pay.
Dominion has announced that "If this bill passes, the Millstone power station will not be economically viable to operate and will be shut down".
To be fair, the bill also taxes coal and oil fired plants. Coal plants are taxed at 0.5¢ per kwh (4 times lower for a dirtier, greenhouse gas producing, and far more lethal form of energy). Oil fired plants are taxed at 0.05¢ per kwh. That is a staggering 40 times lower rate!
The tax money is supposed to "help fund alternative energy systems and provide relief to consumers" according to the JI. Really? What alternative energy system are we currently researching that can replace the base load generation that Millstone provides? Solar? Bzzzt. Only works when the sun shines. Wind? Bzzt. Only works when the wind blows. Millstone's nuclear power station provides the ultimate in base load generation. Nuke plants like to be turned on, full blast, and left that way. The more they are left that way, the more efficient they are. ISO New England would shut down every other plant whether coal, oil, or natural gas before they turned down the power from the nuke plants. They run the nuke plants full blast all night too, even when the power is cheap to sell. It's just the nature of the beast.
What's most egregious about this tax is that it is targeted directly at Millstone. It taxes Millstone at much higher rates, even though the environmental and human costs of the plant are far lower. And perhaps the most galling is that the supporters of the bill somehow think this is pro-consumer. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
