A court has directed the federal government to pay $142 million to utilities that own three closed New England nuclear powerplants to let them recover some costs they incurred in storing spent nuclear fuel. The Dept. of Energy failed to begin disposing the material by Jan. 31, 1998, a date set in DOE contracts with the utilities.

Under a Sept. 30 ruling that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims unsealed Oct. 4, Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co., owner of the Maine Yankee plant, would receive $75.8 million; Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co., which owns the Connecticut Yankee plant, would get $34.9 million; and Yankee Atomic Power Co., owner of the Yankee Rowe plant in Massachusetts, $32.9 million.

The federal government is expected to appeal, says Michael Thomas, vice president and chief financial officer for the three utilities. A federal appeal would put the damage payments in limbo. The Justice Dept. was reviewing the ruling, according to spokeswoman Cynthia Magnusen. Justice has 60 days to file an appeal. 

Thomas says the companies’ initial reaction to the award was “very positive,” but adds that “the ruling does not solve the problem of used nuclear fuel remaining at the plant sites.”

The Maine Yankee plant is dismantled and decommissioned while the Connecticut Yankee and Yankee Rowe reactors are in varying stages of decommissioning.

Other utilities have recovered some storage costs. The Tennessee Valley Authority in August received nearly $34.9 million. In June, Omaha Public Power District got about $4.9 million in damages in an out-of-court settlement. OPPD plans to file a $15-million claim against the federal government early next year to cover its storage costs since July 2005, says spokesman Jeff Hanson.