Making REV R.E.A.L. – Tell PSC That Nuclear Is Not Clean Power!

Many people are not yet familiar wit the REV or Reforming the Energy Vision for New York.  The goal is to move toward renewable energy, distributed generation and make our state a net energy producer instead of consumer.  The door was never entirely closed to nuclear power but it was clear that nuclear did not fit into the overall plan for clean, nimble generation that could be turned on when needed and off when not required.  Governor Cuomo recently made more of a case for nuclear plants and sent a letter to the Public Service Commission that works on REV directing more consideration for nuclear energy.  It is possible that this was in response to the proposed closing of FitzPatrick, an upstate reactor, and his concern over the loss of jobs that might ensue.  His directive opens the door for more subsidies to old, inefficient reactors that are already losing out in the market place. Should this happen it will  raise the electric bills of ratepayers in the surrounding area and cost taxpayers a lot of money.  You can also count on those who want to keep Indian Point open to use the same argument here.

Our friends at Clearwater are calling on the Public Service Commission to make REV R.E.A.L. – Renewable, Equitable, Accountable and Local. Here’s how we can help make that happen! Read the points below carefully. Go to the link below for in depth background information by the New York State Energy Democracy Alliance. We all need to be able to talk about this program and its vision of clean, green energy for New York. Who should you talk to? EVERYONE. Tell your family and friends. Post about it on your social networks. Write letters to your local newspapers and call into to your local radio stations. Let’s everyone together talk to the Public Service Commission and tell them to make REV R.E.A.L.!

To use the public comment form on the PSC website for the REV proceeding, click this link:  http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/Comments/PublicComments.aspx?MatterCaseNo=14-m-0101 You can also email comments to the Hon. Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, at secretary@dps.ny.gov, or by mail or delivery to Secretary Burgess at the New York State Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. Individuals may also choose to submit comments by calling the Commission’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120.  This line is set up to receive in-state calls 24 hours a day.  These calls are not transcribed but a summary will be reported to the Commission. All commenters should reference case 14-M-0101.

New York State’s Reforming the Energy Vision’s (REV) White Paper proposes to score utilities based on a “Carbon Free” metric, which would give them credit, not just for the clean renewable generation and energy savings activities in their territory, but would also give them credit for nuclear power plants. The Carbon Free metric would give group nuclear power in the same category with renewables and give utility companies an incentive to promote nuclear power.

How we see it:

• Nuclear power should be removed from the proposed Carbon Free metric. The metric should only include renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy saving activities.

• Nuclear power in not clean. Nuclear reactors are dirty and dangerous and they generate tons of radioactive waste. They are a threat to our communities and future generations.

• Putting nuclear power on the same footing as renewables could allow nuclear plants to try to get state subsidies, which have been traditionally reserved only for renewable energy. If those subsidies go to nuclear plants, then fewer renewable projects will be built.

• The proposed metric could give utilities and the Public Service Commission a motivation to try to prevent unprofitable nuclear reactors from closing, by propping them up with consumer subsidies.

• The metric will make utility companies with nuclear plants in their territories look like they are doing more for the environment than utility companies with no nuclear plants. Utility companies with nuclear plants would have to buy fewer renewables and support less energy efficiency than other utilities to meet the carbon free standard. Utilities should be scored environmentally based on their support for real clean energy, not the number of nuclear power plants they buy power from.

• Many people and organizations fought successfully to keep nuclear power and trash incineration out of New York’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. The proposed Carbon Free metric would undermine those decisions. It’s critical that we keep New York clean energy standards truly green, so that our resources are invested in renewable energy and energy efficiency, not into nuclear fossil fuel.

For more information about REV from the New York State Energy Democracy Alliance, click the link below:

http://energydemocracyny.org/reforming-the-energy-vision-information/

For the official New York State goverment website for REV, click the link below:

http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/CC4F2EFA3A23551585257DEA007DCFE2?OpenDocument

For the key REV documents, including the white paper, click the link below:

http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/C12C0A18F55877E785257E6F005D533E?OpenDocument