A summary of the October 7, 1997, meeting on Year 2000 issues between the NRC, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Nuclear Utility Software Management Group has been posted on NRC's Web server. The Uniform Resource Locator for this document is:
nrc.gov
The document also can be located through
The NRC Home Page (www.nrc.gov)
News and Information
Year 2000 Issue
Summary of October 7 Meeting
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
October 20, 1997
MEMORANDUM TO: Thomas H. Essig, Acting Chief
Generic Issues and Environmental
ÿÿProjects Branch
Division of Reactor Program Management
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
FROM: Melinda Malloy, Senior Reactor Engineer
Generic Issues and Environmental
ÿÿProjects Branch
Division of Reactor Program Management
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF OCTOBER 7, 1997, MEETING
WITH THE NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE (NEI)
ON "YEAR 2000" SOFTWARE ISSUES
FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
On October 7, 1997, representatives of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) met with representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the Nuclear Utility Software Management Group (NUSMG) at the NRC's offices in Rockville, Maryland. The list of meeting attendees is provided in Attachmentÿ1.
In a letter from James Davis (NEI) to Hugh Thompson (NRC) dated September 15, 1997, Mr. Davis provided an update on actions NEI was taking to help utilities to make their plants "Year 2000 ready." In his letter, Mr. Davis recommended this meeting of industry representatives and interested NRC staff to share views and concerns on industry plans and actions to address "Year 2000" (Y2K) computer software issues relating to nuclear power plants and plant systems necessary to support operations. The meeting agenda is provided in Attachmentÿ2.
John Jolicoeur of the Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data described the efforts to update the Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) for the Year 2000. His presentation included some background on the ERDS and the importance of date fields to the system. He then detailed the main features of the NRC's ERDS action plan and the current schedule. He is planning to complete testing of the NRC Operations Center ERDS in November 1998. He indicated that where licensees are planning to make software changes to their ERDS interfaces, he needs to know what upgrades licensee are performing on their ERDS software and the projected completion dates. This information is necessary so that he can adequately plan and schedule testing of the NRC-licensee interfaces. Mr. Jolicoeur's talking points are included as Attachmentÿ3.
Hugh Thompson, the NRC Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Programs, remarked that the NRC has a regulatory framework that if used correctly, will be appropriate for addressing the safety issues associated with the Y2K problem at nuclear power plants. Because of the heightened interest in the Y2K issue, it is important for the NRC to be able to communicate the progress of the regulated community in addressing the Y2K issue for its facilities. He stated that NRC is seeking to have a mechanism for periodic communication between the NRC and licensees regarding licensee progress in addressing Y2K issues, and he asked for input on what the industry considered to be appropriate in terms of periodic feedback from individual licensees to the NRC. He indicated that the NRC was considering whether a communication mechanism could provide sufficient oversight or whether a special NRC inspection activity would be needed. The NRC would expect each utility to identify a point of contact with whom the NRC could interface on Y2K matters.
Mr. Davis explained that the overall goals of the industry are to keep nuclear power plants safe and on line into the Year 2000. He stated that because of time limitations associated with the Y2K problem, rather than trying to prepare a consensus document, NEI drew upon talent within NUSMG to prepare a framework document for utility use in approaching their Y2K readiness efforts as a project. He said that NEI was not offering the document as an initiative and as such, there was no assurance that all utilities would follow it. For the purposes of discussion, he handed out copies of the draft document to all meeting attendees (these were collected at the end of the meeting per NEI's request since NEI did not want to make the draft document publicly available at this time). He also said that NEI/NUSMG was not looking for the NRC's approval of the document, but was discussing it with the NRC as a courtesy and that they would consider the NRC's comments.
Mr. Davis pointed out that the framework document makes a distinction in terminology between "Y2K readiness" (meaning devices or systems will be able to function properly on and after January 1, 2000) and "Y2K compliant" (meaning devices and systems have been modified to use a four-digit year input correctly). NEI expects to issue the completed document to the industry (through the NUSMG representatives and NEI administrative points of contact) by the end of the month. At that time, the NRC staff will also be provided a copy and the document could be made publicly available. Mr. Davis plans to discuss the Y2K issue during his meetings with utility executives. NEI/NUSMG is planning to offer a full day of training on the framework document for all interested parties on November 14, 1997, in San Francisco. The NRC staff was invited to attend this training session.
Morgan Libby of the NUSMG task force provided an overview of the draft framework document (Attachmentÿ4). He emphasized that the document espouses managing Y2K issues as a project, addressing all appropriate software and interfaces. Quality assurance is embedded in all aspects of the program. He stressed that there is a continuing commitment on the part of NEI and NUSMG to assist the utilities. NEI plans to establish an on-line information exchange mechanism for its members, which will be a forum for the Y2K managers at each utility to share information and advice on their experiences in implementing their Y2K programs. NEI expects that the training to be offered in November and this on-line information exchange will ensure consistent implementation. Other NUSMG task force members then discussed the content of each section of the framework document in more detail. Overall, the task force members believe there is sufficient time for all utilities to make their plants Y2K ready.
Jared Wermiel, Chief of the Instrumentation and Controls Branch and the NRC's Y2K program manager for power reactors, provided feedback on behalf of the NRC staff to NEI and NUSMG on their presentation and the draft framework document. He commended NEI and NUSMG on their development of a good reference document in such a short period of time and their plans to offer training to utilities. He expressed his view that all licensees attend the training session NEI/NUSMG will be offering. He indicated that licensees should be addressing safety-related systems first in their Y2K programs. He also indicated, however, that the NRC staff also recognizes that Y2K issues that do not directly impact public health and safety should not impede nuclear power plants staying on line.
Mr. Wermiel remarked that the draft document did not provide as much detail as was conveyed by the task force members in their section-by-section presentations. He stated that the NRC would like to see revisions to address and/or stress the following points:
a.. The iterative nature of the Y2K program efforts. Many steps of the process overlap and may need to be repeated.
b.. The need for initial testing, remediation, and post-remediation testing to ensure that problems have been adequately addressed.
c.. The "living" nature of the project. A feedback loop should exist wherein utilities compare their progress to the established plan and make appropriate adjustments to the plan and schedule.
Mr. Wermiel explained that the staff was not yet in a position to say more about its future plans for ensuring that licensees address Y2K issues beyond what was said in SECY-97-213, "Year 2000 Computer Issue," September 24, 1997. He stated that the NRC needs confidence that its licensees are doing the right things to become Y2K ready. In order to obtain that confidence, he indicated that the NRC may need certain information from licensees (perhaps via issuance of a letter to licensees pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54(f), as was discussed in SECY-97-213). Information of interest would likely include licensee plans and schedules.
The relative merits of the NRC issuing a 10 CFR 50.54(f) letter were discussed, although it was clear that some industry representatives present were not supportive of this approach. Some of the industry representatives suggested that an NRC bulletin on Y2K may be more appropriate. Mr. Wermiel indicated that the NRC may request, at some point in time, a licensee certification that their plant(s) are Y2K ready. He said that the NRC has not yet decided whether it should require periodic reports from licensees and whether it needs to perform follow-up inspections. However, the NRC does need to make sure that every licensee is on a path to meet its implementation schedules for addressing Y2K issues.
Mr. Davis responded that NEI wants to keep open the lines of communication with the NRC on this topic, and it is important to NEI that it has a clear understanding of what concerns the NRC needs to address.
Attachments:
1.. List of Attendees
2.. Meeting Agenda for 10/7
3.. NRC's Talking Points on Updating ERDS for Y2K
4.. NEI's/NUSMG's Briefing Slides
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