ML20084Q865
| ML20084Q865 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Shoreham File:Long Island Lighting Company icon.png |
| Issue date: | 05/21/1984 |
| From: | Prospect W SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY |
| To: | |
| References | |
| OL, PR-840521, NUDOCS 8405210557 | |
| Download: ML20084Q865 (4) | |
Text
E
~
g BULK RATE f
O. S. POSTAGE U
TH O w.
g7ayyg a u r m a o g ' '.N.Y.
r".mm..m,.
Prospect
%E~-
Suffolk County Legislator coCP.ET l'U"?ER g, pq O {
FT.o.O
- fP
P o.,.....c.<.-
L The Lilco, Shoreham story Fifteen years ago, Lilco wrote a pmss release stanng that they wanted to redua elecnic rates by building a 565 million dollar nudear power plant.
Today, the Shoreham Nudear Power Plant is still not completed and the mst will soon be approadung S4 bilhon dollars. If the Shoreham plant is ever allowed to operate, it will increase your elecric bill by sppiuxiiriately 65 per nt.
Background
The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), later mplaad by the Nudear Regulatory Comnussion (NRC) mnducted construction permit hearings for Lilm's Shoreham fadlity in 1971. The AEC, at the time, told dtizen groups that all questions relative to evacuation planning muld not be raised during the hearings. The appropriate time, they said, to discuss those issues, woilld be when the Shoreham plant is mmpleted and Liko applies for an operating license. If this appears to you to be a backwards way of appmadling a problem, then you are right. But this is the federal regulation the people of Suffolk County have been formd to live with.
Now,12 years later, Liko is applying to the NRC for an operaung li nse for the Shoreham -
plant. However, the NRC's own mgulations require that a lomlity have an evacuation plan in g
pla before a li nse can be given to operate a nudear power plant.
Q h
nen8ranana O
G
!D 1,
I l-During thepast tuoyears, in oterwhelming numbers, thepeople ofSufo&
E County demanded that the County Legislature and the County Emutite objectitely eramine thefeasibility of etacuation planningfor the wunty, and e
not simplyyield to Lilco's appeal to the munty to detelop an emergencyplan forShoreham.
Sin a sepous radiologid aaddent at Shorehzm could kill and injure thousands of people, the atizens of the munty wert. making a simple request to their govemment; represent the public interest on Shoreham, and not the private interests of like. The eleaed govemment of Suffolk County responded.
The Decision.
Beginmng in the spring of 1982, Suffolk County began one of the most comprehensive evacuation planning studies ever undertaken by a municipality. The county spent 5600,000 dollars to hire the best planning consultants in the nation to exanune the feasibility of evamation plannmg in Suffolk. In January 1983, three volumes of matenal were submitted to the county govemment, and this was followed by 8 days of public hearings by the County Iqbture.
On February 17,1.983, the goternment ofSufo& County adopted a resolution stating that as a result of our unique islandgeography and limited road capadty, it uvuld be impossible to detise and implement an etacuation plan which uvuldproted thepublic health and safety in the etent of a radiological akibnt at Shoreham. On the same day, Goternor Cuomo released a statement supporting Sufo& County'sposition.
Sin there is no way to protect the public from a radiologicil accident a: Shoreham, Suffolk l
County has petitioned the NRC not to grant tilco an operatmg li ns? for Shoreham.
Two months ago,3 of the 5 NRC Commissioners publidy stated that they do not believe a nudear power plant muki be li nsed if the loal govemment muld not devise an evacuation plan. If the NRC respecs their own regulation, the Shoreham plant will be abandoned. If the NRC violates those regulations, Suffolk County will go to murt to prevent the Shoreham plant l
from being liansed.
Shoreham: EconomicImpact The abandonment of the Shoreham Sudear Power Plant would mean, of course, that Suffolk residents would not have to live with the masequenms of a radiologim! acident at Shoreham.
In addition, Shoreham's abandonment would be an emnomic blessing to every ratepayer on long Island.
m
\\
As previously stated, an operating Shoreham plant would mean a crippling 65 per nt electric rate increase for every family on long Island. Such an incncse would make long Island an unfavomble plam to loste and sustain businesses. as well as making it difficult to buy and sell homes. Thus, a45 per at rate increase would result in the loss of thousands of jobs and would redu the market value of your home.
The state Public Sertice Commission guarantees the Lilm monopoly about a 15 per cent rate of return on all capitalintestments. Therefort, Lilm uill reap an enormousprvfitfrom their S4 billion dollar intestment at Shoreham. In order for Lilm to pay interestpayments to its creditors and ditidends to stockholders, tebo bappen to be the major banks and imestment bouses in Neu' York, Lilm uill bate to extractfrom Long Island ratepayers an ertra SI billion dollars a year during Shoreham'sfirst 10 years of operation, and an extra 5600 inillion dollars a year during Sboreham 's second ten years of operation.
When the cost of operating Shoreham on a daily insis is added to Lilco's financial obligation to its creditors and stockholders, the total cost to ratepayers for the Shoreham plant over its presumed 30 year life will be approximately S30 billion dollars-if the plant is put on line.
Shoreham: Do We Need The Power?
Lilco is p'esently engaged in an all out one million dollar fear mongering campaign that attempts to paint a picture of emnomic gloom and doom if Shoreham does not open. They have gone as far as to' threaten " brown outs" if the Shoreham plant does not go on line. In the absen of power from Shoreham, Lilm clauns. ratepayers would have to finan the mnstmction of two coal plants msting S3 billion dollars. However. aanrding to Attomey General Robert Abmms, Liloo's electrical supply system has 42 per mnt exass capacity. In addition, Liko is a member of the New York State power pool. which also has significnnt amounts of exmss apacity.
In the unlikely event that additional souras of power are needed for long Island in the future, we will have every opportunity to purchase cheap hydm power from the Canadian Provin of Quebec. In fact, Con Edison currently re ives 800 megawatts a day from Quebec.
Hydro-Quebec has a surplus of 4000-5000 megawatts of hydrmlectric power which it is prepared to sell to New York State and New England over the next five years. The mst of this power is pegged to the prevailing pri of oil at a dismunt of 89 per ant. let's not be deaived by Lixn, additional inexpensive power is available-if we really need it.
l l
i Shoreham: Cheaper Tiian Foreign Oil?
Lilm is fond of saying that in the long run Shoreham will save us money because it vill redo our dependence on foreign oil. First, the Shoreham plant, at best, will be able to displa only 15 per mnt of the foreign oil lilm imports. Secondly, for the Shoreham plant to be less expensive in generanng power than oil fimd plants, the pri of a barrel of oil, which lilm gets from Venezuela, would have to rise to several hundred dollars a barrel. The current pri is about S25 dollars a barrel l
Shoreham's Aband6nment: Who Pays?
If the Shoreham plant is abandoned, Illm will use its extensive politic 11 network to make you, the ratepayer foot the bill. We must not let lilm get away with it. Lilm and its cmditors must assume liability for the Shoreham Nudear Plant. As in any business venture, the investor takes the risks and assumes the responsibilities. The Shoreham plant was the creation of 1.ilm and its creditors; they must be the ones to bear its economic burden let's'not be under any illusion, lilm has declared war agamst the public. In this war, the public lias a powerful ally-the New York State Public Servi law, which states that dtizens are not required to pay for a power plant that is not "used and useful" to the public. In other words, according to the laws of the State of New York, it would be illegal to make ratepayers pay for the Shoreham Nudear Power Plant if it did not go on line.
Conclusion If the New York State Public Seni Commission, usually not an ally of ratepayers, renders a dedsion on Shorehani that ignores the "used and useful" principle, Suffolk Couaty must unmediately appeal sudi a ruling to the courts to make sure this prindple is strictly enfor d with mspect to Shoreham. I am pleased to have drafted and sponsored a resolution, adopted by the County Govemment, requinng that Suffolk County intervene before the PSC and, if nanssary, go to mun to make sure that the "used and use.t!" prindple is erformd and the mst of an inoperative Shoreham plant is not passed on to ratepayers.
Sufo& County is aornntly intvited in a titanic struggle uith Like oter the Shortham plant. For the mostpart, thisfght has been unged on the grounds ofproceding thepublich health and safety. Suomss on thisfront should not distrud usfrom ourfurther obligation to ensure that the ratepayers ofSufok County are not milaf upon to ball out Lilco and their crutitorsfrompnancial prvblems smultingfrom their imprudent intestment at Shortbam.
CountyLegislator WayneProspect u.%m..
-