State nuclear expert to sell Entergy stock after questions

Burlington Free Press, June 19, 2003

By Sue Robinson
Free Press Staff Writer

The state's nuclear energy expert said Wednesday he will sell nearly $5,000 worth of stock he and his mother own in Entergy Corp., the parent of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and a company he investigates for state regulators.

William Sherman, the nuclear specialist for the Department of Public Service, broke no state laws and voluntarily disclosed twice over the past two years that he had a financial interest in Entergy.

Tuesday, he answered questions about the shares and what some perceive as a possible conflict of interest during public testimony on Entergy's bid to increase the power output of the plant. He asked his mother to sell the shares Wednesday after a reporter called about the stock.

"The opinion of our attorney and myself is that this does not influence my views one way or another," Sherman said Wednesday. "We are not trying to hide anything with it, and that is why we disclosed it."

Sherman, a nuclear engineer, has worked 15 years for the Vermont Public Service Department, which advocates for Vermonters on energy and telecommunications issues. He also advises the Public Service Board on technical issues about anything relating to nuclear power. The three-member board ultimately makes its own decisions regulating the industry.

Sherman said that when his father died three years ago his investment portfolio went to his 80-year-old mother in Virginia . Sherman was listed as joint owner.

Sherman first noticed the stock listing in the statements that began coming shortly after his father's death. He said he did not want to micro-manage his mother's assets by asking her to sell the stock and added that she has not done anything with the portfolio since his father's death.

He disclosed the ownership two years ago when Entergy bid for Vermont Yankee. He disclosed it again last month as Entergy asked to increase the plant's power capacity by 20 percent.

Vermont has conflict-of-interest laws governing elected and appointed officials but no laws regulating other state employees beyond criminal offenses, said Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz. Other employee policies would apply if regulators found that Sherman in some way influenced a decision because of his financial holdings.

Markowitz added that the laws set a standard that needs to be followed by all state employees.

"In this case full disclosure is what is warranted," Markowitz said of Sherman 's Entergy stock. "It will be the folks who hired him who have to make the judgment as to whether he still remains credible as an expert."

Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien -- Sherman 's boss -- called the situation "minor," and said his "testimony has been analytical and straightforward" in the Entergy cases. The Vermont Public Service Board has received no complaints about Sherman 's relationship with Entergy.

The New England Coalition questioned Sherman 's objectivity after he disclosed the investment last month, said Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry executive and a consultant for the coalition. The anti-nuclear coalition is opposing Yankee's capacity increase.

"The guy is not going to get rich on 100 shares. That is not the point," Gundersen said. "The point is that this is an indication that he believes the company under his control to be ethical and trustworthy. That is hardly the attitude of a watchdog. More like a lap dog."

Sherman pointed out that he has not rubber-stamped Entergy's request for more power.

"They will need to prove their case just like anyone else," he said.
Contact Sue Robinson at 660-1852 or srobinso@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com