nuclear-news

Fixing Duke Florida Nuclear Plant Could Top $3 Billion -USA

By Cassandra Sweet

Completing repairs necessary to restart Duke Energy Corp.’s (DUK) Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida could cost as much as $3.43 billion, according to a study released Monday.

Duke, which assumed ownership of the plant when it acquired Progress Energy earlier this year, hired a group of consultants to evaluate how much it might cost to fix and restart the plant, which has been shut for about three years.

The report, by Zapata Inc., found that Progress Energy’s initial plan to fix the plant would likely cost about $1.49 billion. That compares to Progress’s estimate that repairs would cost between $900 million and $1.3 billion. The consultants predicted that if more extensive work is required, under a “worst-case scenario,” the total repair bill would likely be $3.43 billion.

The problems at the Crystal River plant emerged as a key issue in Duke Energy’s decision to dismiss former Progress Energy Chief Executive Bill Johnson from his position as Duke CEO after the companies completed their $26 billion merger in early July.

Duke’s board dismissed Mr. Johnson because he withheld information, such as the rising cost of repairs at the Crystal River plant, Duke lead director Ann Gray told North Carolina regulators in July.

[…]

Progress built Crystal River, about 80 miles north of Tampa, and put the reactor in service in 1977. Progress Energy Florida has 1.6 million customer accounts in the state. In 2009, workers cut a hole in the plant’s concrete-and-steel containment structure, a vital radiation barrier, to replace equipment inside. Soon after, a section of the 42-inch-thick wall was found to be cracking and pulling apart, and repairs were made. In 2011, layers of concrete were found to be separating in another section of the wall, prompting questions about whether the plant could be repaired or should be scrapped.

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The utility filed the Zapata Inc. report with the Florida Public Service Commission, which has authority to decide whether Florida utility customers would have to pay for repairs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20121001-714174.html?mod=WSJ_Utilities_middleHeadlines

October 2, 2012 - Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized