A coalition of citizens and environmental organizations called the EDF/Constellation agreement reached today a “bad deal” for Maryland ratepayers and American taxpayers.
"Constellation Energy's rejection of its planned merger with MidAmerican Energy and apparent acceptance of a rival offer from the French nuclear power utility Electricite de France is bad news for Maryland ratepayers and all American taxpayers,” said Michael Mariotte of the Nuclear Information Resource Service. “This company plans to use U.S. taxpayer subsidies to build new French reactors--the most expensive atomic reactors in the world--in Maryland and across the U.S. to line the pockets of companies owned by the French government.”
“Nuclear subsidies distract policy-makers from advancing real energy solutions like energy efficiency,” said Maryland PIRG State Director, Johanna Neumann. “It would be outrageous for Congress to throw even more American taxpayer dollars at an industry already dependent on government welfare.”
Advocates are also concerned that the EDF buyout will leave BGE, Constellation Energy’s regulated distribution utility, divorced from the company’s most valuable assets, potentially exposing BGE ratepayers to greater financial risk.
“This should be a clear wake-up call to the Maryland legislature that re-regulation of the electricity industry in our state is needed now,” said Mariotte.
Nuclear proliferation concerns also factor into the decision by Baltimore-based Constellation to sell 50 percent of its nuclear business to French-owned EDF.
“The increased ownership by French state owned EDF underscores the irony to claims that the nuclear project will afford more energy independence to Maryland and the US,” said Paul Gunter, Director of Takoma Park, MD-based Reactor Oversight Project for Beyond Nuclear. “In fact, it binds us in an increasingly dangerous global nuclear chain with links from uranium mining to weapons proliferation.”
“Are we willing to put the Chesapeake Bay in the hands of such a foreign controlled company for a few more cents on the stock share? I think not,” said Andy Galli, Maryland Program Coordinator for Clean Water Action.
"The financing mechanism associated with Electricite de France's proposals to build French designed reactors on US soil is a bad deal for US taxpayers,” said Public Citizen’s Allison Fisher. “If the project fails, taxpayers will be on the hook for billions of dollars while EDF skirts liability.”
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All of the groups quoted above are members of the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition. The mission of the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition is to challenge Constellation Energy’s proposal to build a new nuclear reactor in Maryland, while advocating cleaner and safer energy solutions.
