From Rick Cowles well known site on utilities: 'the proposed GL is much stronger than the industry anticipated'
The following is from Rick Cowles; y2k expert on utilities:
'EUY2K NEWS AND VIEWS
The "Drudge Report" of Y2k Issues
Recent Industry Events and Breaking News
01/28/1998 - FLASH!!! The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a draft Generic Letter on 01/27/1998 regarding nuclear plants and the Year 2000 problem. There is a 30 day comment period for the Generic Letter (GL), after which time the letter will be formalized.
In its current form, the proposed GL is much stronger than the industry anticipated, and will no doubt cause a great deal of consternation within the nuclear power community. When this website was first placed online in mid-1997, one of the first topical areas addressed was the nuclear end of the electric industry - and from the beginning, I've cautioned the industry to pay attention to the increasing pitch and volume of the Y2k words emminating from One White Flint North (NRC Headquarters). My concern then, and now, is that the industry as a whole is NOT correctly reading the political tea leaves inside the Washington, D.C. beltway.
There was and is no question that the NRC's ultimate response to the Y2k issue will indeed be strong (see the "Nuclear Industry Insider View" for more details). There are several reasons, backed by strong evidence:
The NRC is under intense pressure from congress and the GAO to hold nuclear licensees accountable for prudent operation, and that accountability extends specifically to Y2k issues. Reps. Morella, Horn, and Sen. Moynihan have specifically requested a continuing dialog with the NRC Commissioners on Y2k issues in the nuclear industry. The federal Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is allocating significant resources during 1998 to audit and evaluate NRC's response to Y2k, both internally and with NRC's licensees.
At the risk of being redundant, to gauge the NRC's eventual response to Y2k, the industry needs to understand the intense pressure that the NRC is feeling on the issue. To paraphrase an NRC staffer at the October, 1997 NEI/NRC joint meeting: "We've come under increasing criticism from GAO, and have developed a very low threshold of pain. And if we feel Y2k pain, you can be sure the industry will feel the pain."
Twenty percent of the domestic U.S. electric production capacity is vested in nuclear technology. The reserve generating capacity does not exist in several regions of the country to replace nuclear generation should NRC mandate shutdown of "non-Y2k ready" power plants.
Finally (and quite frankly), I grow weary of taking heat for bearing a message that hasn't been heard in the past and isn't likely to be heard now. I spent five years in a nuclear licensing / regulation environment interpreting the regulatory tarot cards, and so have a bit more than passing knowledge of the process and players. It's time for the nuclear industry leadership contingent to quit throwing bricks at the messenger, and to get serious about mitigating the ultimate NRC Y2k response. ' |
