Going fission: CLF, VY, and a brighter energy future for Vermont.

• Position: Vermont

The state's only nuclear plant--Vermont Yankee (VY)--has been sold for $180 million to Mississippi's Entergy Corporation, ending a three-year effort by Vermont's utilities to sell the aging facility. Thanks to CLF efforts, the sale was approved on terms that protect ratepayers and should hasten VY's shutdown.

The utilities first tried to sell the plant in 1999, for only $10 million, but because that "fire sale" would have meant huge financial losses for ratepayers, CLF cried foul, demanding a public interest auction to ensure the highest possible price.

But the auction wasn't typical. Instead of selling the plant outright, as recommended by CLF, the utilities agreed to deliver ratepayers to Entergy by linking the sale to an above-market, long-term power contract. CLF vehemently opposed that, because it required Vermont consumers to buy back VY output for 10 years--and far above market prices--effectively shielding Entergy's nuclear operation from the competitive market.

After months of litigation, and due mainly to CLF advocacy efforts, state regulators eliminated most of the sale's anti-competitive, ratepayer-unfriendly features. Among the terms:

* The Vermont Public Service Board agreed with CLF that the utilities should receive no rate guarantees for the full costs of the Entergy contract. CLF predicts the contract will prove much more expensive than market power; if so, utility shareholders will have to share the added costs with ratepayers.

* The contract was changed to ensure that...