  We propose that the thermoelectric power distinguishes two competing
scenarios for quantum phase transitions in heavy fermions : the
spin-density-wave (SDW) theory and breakdown of the Kondo effect. In the Kondo
breakdown scenario, the Seebeck coefficient turns out to collapse from the
temperature scale $E^{*}$, associated with quantum fluctuations of the Fermi
surface reconfiguration. This feature differs radically from the physics of the
SDW theory, where no reconstruction of the Fermi surface occurs, and can be
considered as the hallmark of the Kondo breakdown theory. We test these ideas,
upon experimental results for YbRh$_2$Si$_2$.
