The problem for NRG, and Mr. Winn at NINA, was how to get those water rights (and as much cash as possible) out of San Antonio after the truth about the come-on price was made public. The foil they chose was San Antonio's mayor, Julian Castro. With the city council on the verge of authorizing the final one hundred million in cash, an agent of NRG contacted the mayor's office and officially informed him the original cost estimate was just a fantasy number. San Antonio may be off, off, off Broadway, but you can't beat the drama caused by this little bird singing in the midnight hour, or the performances of the members of the HTC as they (to a man), suddenly and self-righteously transformed themselves overnight from confident cheerleaders to indignant victims.
Predictably, rather than admit that the entire aristocracy that comprised the HTC had made an awful error, the CEO of CPS and a board member were forced out. As scape-goating goes, the script of polite society was followed meticulously, and both individuals were praised for their service as they were thrown under the bus. With this tawdry bit of business accomplished, the Happy Talk Chorus, having escaped its own responsibility, now proclaimed a "new era" of truth and transparency at CPS, and renewed the push for nuclear expansion.
The high-point of the drama came in a hysterical law-suit filed by CPS against NRG and NINA. In the suit, CPS charged that San Antonio had been deliberately defrauded
because NRG had known all along that the project would cost much more than the come-on price, demanded thirty-two billion in damages, the right to withdraw from the project, and their four hundred million in cash returned. They did not get one red cent in damages,
were not allowed to withdraw from the project, did not get their cash refunded, and their claim that the water rights were worth two billion was reduced to one billion. Despite this total defeat, the "media" and "journalists" here, all charter members of the original consensus and active members of the HTC, broadcast the result to the people of San Antonio as a victory.
A chief beneficiary of this resurrected consensus was our designated knight on a white horse, the mayor, Julian Castro. Rather than being seen as a tool used by NRG to chivy San Antonio out of full partnership (after all, the last thing they wanted to do was actually sell at the come-on price), he was seen as a hero for pulling CPS back from the brink of disaster. Although he actually did no negotiating, he was also credited with the final deal into which San Antonio was forced to enter.
Until the recent disaster in Japan and the resulting failure of safeguards at the six reactors run by TEPCO at Fukishima, the deal credited to Mr. Castro, but more properly the result of the skill of Mr. Winn and his lawyers, was hailed in San Antonio as "a great deal" and Mr. Castro as "a hero". NINA did agree to kick-back almost one hundred million to San Antonio on the condition that blue-state San Antonio agrees to join the other elements of the nuclear coalition in lobbying the Obama administration for loan guarantees. That would reduce our cash outlay to three hundred million and together with the reduced one billion dollar value assigned to our land and water rights, would produce a final cost to San Antonio of 1.3 billion. However, if the deal doesn't fly, San Antonio will have to kiss its cash good-bye.
Yet, we did not get the 10% share that was the rate before our "victory" in court. We only got 7.6%, which reflects the more honest price for the reactors, but is a third higher
than the come-on rate. The excited "buy now" estimates of future energy needs have been scaled back to make the smaller purchase look more significant. We are now told that where once we needed to buy 40%, 7.6% is adequate.
CPS has a new chairman for the new era of transparency. He has no experience in running a public utility, or in representing any public interest, and is actually a highly successful corporate flak. Up until Fukishima, he had actually re-started negotiations
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
