Vermont Yankee is close to 30 years old. Isn’t a 20% uprate too much?
We haven’t completed our review of Entergy’s application so we don’t know if 20-percent uprate is too much. We will only approve a license amendment request if there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public can be protected by operation in the proposed manner. Vermont Yankee may be close to 30 years old, but the components that make up the plant undergo routine rigorous testing. We require plants to inspect and test pumps, valves, piping, and the functionality of safety systems on a routine basis. Some components are tested every 3 months. Some are tested every outage. This routine testing and inspection verifies that the components and systems can adequately perform their function if called upon. In addition, the plant has, over the years, performed maintenance and replaced equipment as necessary to keep systems in top condition.
