Entergy, owner of the shuttered Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, has reached a property tax agreement with Vernon, Vt., that will see the utility pay the town significantly less annually as the plant moves toward decommissioning. The plant’s value is now set at $78 million, down from the previous $250 million valuation.
The agreement was reached Tuesday, setting the assessed value of Vermont Yankee at $78 million, while establishing a fixed municipal payment for the real and personal property owned by the plant. Entergy will pay the town of Vernon $750,000 for 2016-17; $600,000 for 2017-18; $450,000 for 2018-19; and $400,000 for each of the following three years. Before the agreement, Vermont Yankee’s property tax payment was automatically generated annually. Entergy paid Vernon about $1.1 million for 2014-15.
Entergy is preparing Vermont Yankee for decommissioning after ceasing operations in 2014 for financial reasons.
“We’re very pleased to have worked out this agreement with the town,” Entergy spokesman Marty Cohn said over the phone Wednesday. “It really show our relationship in terms of them being a really good host community, and also us continuing our role as a good corporate citizen.”
