Regulators to decide if Entergy customers should pay for $140M mistake

[Ksheed]

Rarely is a Louisiana Public Service Commission meeting as significant in scope as the discussion and vote Wednesday on two Entergy requests: that its customers pay for a $140-million mistake at nuclear power plant and permission to build a new natural gas-fueled plant.


Some of the giants of Louisiana industry have lined up in opposition to Entergy's requests.


Atypically, the five PSC commissioners have been circumspect in conversations over the past weeks about their leanings on either issue.


They seem to agree that making customers pay for the mistake, in Commissioner Foster Campbell's words, "rewards incompetence on the backs of everyday Mom and Pop consumers."


On the other hand, Campbell included, they seem to also acknowledge the long-term consequences of their decisions Wednesday and in PSC Commissioner Scott Angelle's words, "We can't just go off half-cocked."


The November 2010 discovery of "visible cracks and distortion" on key pieces of equipment to be installed at the Waterford 3 nuclear power plant launched a debate over money and principle. Entergy Louisiana LLC wants its 1 million customers to pay, including a profit.

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_89b76ef6-6d4f-11e6-8325-37f26841d940.html

[hamsamich]

As far as a profit of 10% on the S/G overage, the article didn't explain in detail if Entergy was going to receive a profit for the extra 140 million or not....I don't think they should.  Doesn't sound like a great business model "the more I screw up or my contractors screw up, the more profit I make".  Have to look at more numbers in detail to see what is really going on.....Maybe the better way to do things is a certain percentage of profit for every megawatt you sell.  The rest could be a wash.  And taking it further, it doesn't seem to make sense to get a "profit" on any type of preventative maintenance, no matter how big the capital expenditure.  Maybe someone with a better understanding of the nuclear business model could comment.  I might press the "phone a friend" button.