NU Could Take Control of Haddam Neck Fuel Rod Facility

Northeast Utilities will take control of the spent fuel rod facility at the site of the former Connecticut Yankee nuclear power plant in Haddam Neck under a proposed merger that is under consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

NU, the parent company of Connecticut Light & Power, would become the majority owner of the site following a proposed merger between its subsidiaries, including CL&P, with one of the minority owners of the Haddam Neck spent fuel rod site, NStar. The NRC, which monitors and oversees the spent fuel rod facility on the Connecticut River, recently approved an application to transfer the license for the fuel rod facility to NU, pending the proposed merger.

Meanwhile, the state's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Wednesday issued a draft decision stating that it has the jurisdiction to review and approve the proposed merger between NU and NStar.

The draft decision reverses a previous PURA ruling that was under appeal by state's Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC). In its draft decision, PURA said it is reversing its decision to review the merger based on new information it has recieved.

PURA said it is “legally obliged to review the proposed merger to ensure that after any resulting merger CL&P and Yankee will have the qualifications and ability to provide safe, adequate, reliable and reasonably-priced services for Connecticut customers.”

In response to the announcement, Senator Richard Blumenthal issued this statement.

“I am pleased by the decision to review the NU-NSTAR merger, affording consumers and public officials an opportunity to assert the public interest in this potentially problematic combination,” Blumenthal said. “My hope is that hearings and other means of public comment will enable an effective, open, and accessible review. I look forward to participating in this process which will have historic and far-reaching ramifications for accountability and quality of service.”

CL&P has come under fire in recent months for its response to two major storms that hit Connecticut, one in August, the other in October, and which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers throughout the state. The criticism leveled against CL&P following the October snowstorm, by state and local officials as well as residents, led to the resignation of the company's president, Jeffrey Butler.

The Haddam Neck nuclear power plant was decommissioned in 2007. The move followed the physical closing of the plant, which had operated for 28 years, in 1996. The property has a commanding view of the Connecticut River, and of the East Hampton shoreline on the opposite side, and for many years the iconic dome of the nuclear power plant could be seen from numerous vantage points along the river. The dome was taken down after the plant was closed.

The only radioactive material that remains on the site are some 1,000 spent nuclear fuel rods held in a five-acre containment facility. The rods are being kept there, under the license the NRC oversees, until the U.S. establishes a spent fuel rod disposal facility. Policy makers, and residents, for more than 30 years have debated about where that facility should be located, with Yucca Mountain in Nevada a leading contender for it.

Note: Original story was updated with statement from Sen. Blumenthal.