Utility Big Southern Infrastructure Projects: Clean Coal Plants and Nukes

First Published on 2/8/17

Doesn't this look like the Vogtle plants in George. Why are these utilities having so much difficulties with these huge construction projects. You get it, basically the conservative republican dominating the political scene. Regulated utilities and crooked republicans and graft. A guaranty the plant's cost would get passed onto the rate payers no matter how over budget the project becomes. Remember the high cost producers set the price of electricity for everyone else and boost corporate profits.  

I wouldn't let this guys on the rate base...

Really, this indicates something dysfunction is going on with the electric utilities and the construction industry. I see Intel is building a $8 billion dollar giant computer factory in Arizona. It will be the third one built there. Why aren't they having gigantic problems with cost overruns and constant delays in construction. like Vogtle. 

I think it's the least cost bidding that causes this...

Dive Insight:

Moody’s cut Mississippi Power’s rating to near junk status in 2015. Since then, the utility has announced several more delays to its beleaguered Kemper integrated gasification combined-cycle project, most recently in early February when it delayed the expected online date for the project by one more month. 

The 582 MW project is designed to convert coal into a synthetic gas to burn in a combined cycle generator, and is now slated to begin operation by the end of February. Updated costs are just over $7 billion, more than double the original, $2.9 billion cost estimate. 

In all, Mississippi Power has extended the project’s online date nine times. Each delay can add tens of millions of dollars to the project’s cost. The most recent delay added $51 million to the cost estimate. 

Moody’s says the rising costs increase the risk that Mississippi Power will not receive full regulatory recovery of $2.88 billion of plant costs subject to a cost cap established by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, $1.5 billion of costs not subject to the cap, and higher operating costs once the plant is placed into service.
Moody’s also noted that Mississippi Power and Southern have said that their 2017 fuel system costs completed last year reflect significantly lower natural gas costs than previously estimated. Those lower costs will factor into the economic viability analysis the utility is now conducting on the project. 

That analysis may affect the prospects of the project’s ability to recovery costs and the “standalone financial condition” of the plant when it is fully operational, including whether the plant “will exhibit financial metrics consistent with an investment grade rating.” 

While Moody’s did not take action on Southern Co., Mississippi Power's parent, the rating agency said Southern’s rating could be negatively affected if, among other things, there are additional, material debt financed acquisitions at the parent company or further delays or cost increases at Georgia Power's Vogtle nuclear construction project.

The Southern Company's Stock Price Tanking on Scana Subpoena

Least the other Southern nuke plants are operating at 100%.

Scana Gets SEC Subpoena Related to Canceled Nuclear Project

Bloomberg: Scana Corp. has been served by a document subpoena issued by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the commission’s investigation of Scana’s V.C. Summer nuclear project, the company said in a statement.

Scana said it intends to fully cooperate with the investigation. In late September, shares of the company fell to the lowest in more than two years as state utility regulators weighed a request to suspend previously approved rate increases for its abandoned nuclear power plant expansion...

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: Huge Down Power Event Already

update Oct 18

They have screamed up to 100%. Can they do 100% for a week one wonders.

*I wonder if they ever got up to 100%? 99% percent yesterday. 89% today.

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: Holy Smokes Up 99% Power Today

Based on their history, I give them a week at full power before a big down power event or scram.

Isn't time for another southern fleet plant to big a down power or trip?

Junk Plant Grand Gulf-That Capacity Factor Thing

So they took a shutdown in the midst of the summer. Had feedwater pump troubles. Now upon startup, they been stuck at around 60% straight for three days.

Looks like they started up with one feedwater pump missing?

Grand Gulf Gets Screwed By FERC?

If only they could stay up to 100% power. 

FERC Opens Proceeding over Entergy Nuclear Power Sales

October 2, 2017

By Amanda Durish Cook

FERC last week opened settlement proceedings to address a two-state complaint against an Entergy subsidiary’s proposed return on equity for nuclear power sales to four other company affiliates.

Utility commissions in Arkansas and Mississippi earlier this year filed a protest claiming that the ROE used by System Energy Resources Inc. (SERI) in its current formula rate for energy sales from the Grand Gulf nuclear plant is excessive and outdated. They’ve asked FERC to open an investigation to determine the fairness of the return.

SERI owns 90% of the 1,400-MW facility in Port Gibson, Miss., and sells the plant’s output under a FERC-regulated wholesale rate to Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans under a power sales agreement.

The commission said it will forward the matter to a still-unnamed administrative law judge who will oversee settlement discussions and report whether parties can negotiate a fair ROE. Barring a settlement, the issue would move to a trial-type evidentiary hearing (EL17-41).

Regulators from the two states contend that Grand Gulf should sell its energy to Entergy affiliates at cost-based rates “to avoid overcharging retail customers.” They point out that SERI’s current ROE of 10.94% was calculated using an average of three discounted cash flow analyses produced in 1996 and seek to reduce the figure to 8.5%, in part reflecting a reduction in income tax from $125 million to $97 million.

A “re-examination of [the] current cost of equity is more than due,” the two states argued, especially considering that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year extended Grand Gulf’s license another 20 years, until 2044.

In opening the proceeding, FERC brushed aside SERI’s argument that its existing ROE falls into the “zone of reasonableness” and does not require adjustment. The commission said it “has repeatedly rejected the assertion that every ROE within the zone of reasonableness must be treated as an equally just and reasonable ROE.”

Depreciation Rates also Under Review

The proceeding will also include an examination of SERI’s depreciation rates for Grand Gulf.

In a separate August FERC filing prompted by the license extension, SERI sought to revise Grand Gulf’s depreciation rates to an average 2.66% under the same power sales agreement for the four Entergy utilities (ER17-2219). The current 2.85% depreciation rate was based on the assumption that plant would operate only until Nov. 1, 2024. The Arkansas and Mississippi commissions, along with 10% plant owner Cooperative Energy, argue that SERI has not provided enough support for the new rates.

While FERC has for now accepted SERI’s proposed rates effective Oct. 1, it said its own review “indicates that a further decrease may be warranted” and consolidated the matter into the larger ROE settlement procedures.

Solar Versus Nukes

I think solar is more expensive than state and the cost of Vogtle is downplayed. But it give you a idea. 

The cost of wholesale electricity in NE today is $15 bucks per megawatts-hr. 

Who’sSmarter, Duke Energy or Georgia Power?

October 2, 2017 by Robert Hemphill Leave a Comment

The cost of utility scale PV plants has fallen dramatically over the last several years.  One analytical publication had data for H1 of 2016, indicating that utility scale solar plants cost from 1250 to 1350 per KW at that time. More recent reports tout the arrival of one dollar per watt ($1000 per KW) plants.  This would translate into five to six cents per KWh electricity, although the sun regime at the plant site can affect this number up or down. It seems likely that if Duke aggressively pursues a competitive third-party approach to their solar construction program, it should do even better than these numbers.  And they can use multiple suppliers to compete against each other for the key component, the solar panels.   A January 2015 Wikipedia article listed nine US and 48 non-US providers of this technology, and there are no doubt now many more, especially in China.

The Vogtle cost is unclear.  Most estimates have it at $25 billion, although some argue it could go as high as $29 billion.  The truth is that no one knows.  Georgia Power did originally try to cap the costs by signing a fixed price contract with Westinghouse, the reactor provider and constructor, and a subsidiary of Toshiba, but that has worked out badly, for all parties.

Cost to customers is perhaps the single most important variable in this analysis.  Since the capital cost is unknown for Vogtle, we have to use estimates.  Assuming that 25 billion is the final number, and using even very simple assumptions (30-year debt at 4.5%, mortgage amortization, a 50/50 debt to equity financial structure, 10% return on equity, and 85% capacity factor) then the cost to customers of the capital alone comes out at 12+ cents per kwh.  And nuclear plants have non-trivial operating costs which are generally acknowledged to add four to six cents per kwh to the cost of making electricity.  So the Vogtle electricity leaves the bus bar at north of sixteen cents per KWh.

Grand Gulf Starting Up And At 18%

??

$3.7 Billion Dollars: Vogtle's Nuclear Plant Last Stand

One wonders what the per kilowatt price will be on this dog. I didn't think it will have a great capacity factor. I think this is inconsequential, but it will provide cover to the administration when it fails.   

Trump Hands $3.7b Lifeline to Last US Nuclear Power Project

The administration of US President Donald trump has thrown a lifeline to the last hope for a US nuclear power revival, offering $3.7 billion in additional loan guarantees for Southern Co.’s troubled reactor project in Georgia.

The conditional guarantees announced on Friday by the US Energy Department come at a critical time for Southern. Georgia regulators are weighing whether to allow the company and its partners to continue building two new reactors at Plant Vogtle after costs soared above $25 billion amid construction delays, caused in part by the bankruptcy of contractor Westinghouse Electric Company, Bloomberg reported.

“This is great news,” said Stan Wise, chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission. “It gives us an important piece for continuing the project and it’s important in lessening the impact on rate payers.”

The project represents the last, best chance for a much-hyped nuclear renaissance that has failed to materialize in the US following Japan’s Fukushima accident in 2011 and amid weak wholesale power prices. Scana Corp. this year canceled its plans to build two new reactors in South Carolina after expenses spiraled above $20 billion. Loan guarantees alone, though, won’t save the Vogtle expansion: Regulators also want to see a promised payment from Westinghouse parent Toshiba Corp. and federal tax credits for new nuclear generation…

NRC Answers Me About Concerns With Hope Creeks SRVs, AGAIN

Update

Mike Mulligan <steamshovel2002@gmail.com>	Sep 29 (1 day ago)
to R1ALLEGATION

Nicole,

So my comment about insulation revolves around how cavalier the NRC treats the insulation issue in this sentence. I have no information about SRV insulation issues at Hope Creek. It's not safety related, but some vague consideration is given.

"Some parts are classified as PC3 (e.g. piping and valve insulation), which means they are not safety-related, but quality consideration is given."

The big picture is, why are there so many recent issues with Target Rock SRV valves? Why can't the NRC and the licensees get a handle on these performance issue? The Industry are notorious with flip flopping between stage 2 and stage 3 valves. A plant may have issues with performance and leakage with the stage 2. They go to the stage 3. The problems are worst in the stage 3. Then they go back to the  stage 2. And on and on and on. This constitutes really experimentation.

The road blocks to fixing this so call performance issues are notorious. The example with HC is they finally publically admit the plant has set point drift performance issues. Actually it is drastically worsening in the last decade. One half ass fix after another, after the new fix, the performance issues just worsens. They begin discussions with Areva for replacements. Nothing comes out of it. Now HC decides to save their ass by going with the questionable stage 3, but a new quality issues shows up delaying the replacements. Why is the supply chain for SRVs and their component so brittle?          

Why is there one excuse after another, but it never gets fixed. I get you guys are blindly following the rules. So following the rules is solely the objective here, not getting things fixed.  

These guys are cycled extremely infrequently and no environmental stress around them. One only wonders what would happen in a accident. God help us all if you are treating the millions of components and parts like this in the plant

Excepts with Most recent LER

Supplemental Licensee Event Report (LER) Number 2016-003-01,"As-Found Values for Safety Relief Valve Lift Set Points Exceed Technical Specification Allowable Limit."

On October 22, 2016, Hope Creek Generating Station (HCGS) received results that the 'as-found' set-point tests for safety relief valve (SRV) pilot stage assemblies had exceeded the lift setting tolerance prescribed in Technical Specification (TS) 3.4.2.1. The TS requires the SRV lift settings to be within +/- 3% of the nominal set-point value. During the twentieth refueling outage (H1 R20), all fourteen SRV pilot stage assemblies were removed for testing at an offsite facility. Between October 22 and October 28, 2016, HCGS received the test results for all fourteen of the SRV pilot valve assemblies. A total of ten of the fourteen SRV pilot stage assemblies experienced set-point drift outside of the TS 3.4.2.1 specified values. All of the valves failing to meet the limits were Target Rock Model 7567F two-stage SRVs. This is a condition reportable under 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B) as an Operation or Condition Prohibited by Technical Specifications.

The cause of the set-point drift for the ten SRV pilot stage assemblies is attributed to corrosion bonding between the pilot disc and seating surfaces, which is consistent with industry experience. This conclusion is based on previous cause evaluations and the repetitive nature of this condition at HCGS and within the BWR industry.

Two technical evaluations were performed to assess the aggregate safety-significance of the 10 SRVs with out of tolerance initial lift set-points and determine whether the condition would have had an adverse effect on the safety function of the valves or other affected systems, structures and components (SSCs). One technical evaluation looked at 1) the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) over-pressure design function of the valves; 2) the impact of higher relief setpoints on other safety systems (i.e., HPCI, RCIC, and SLC); and 3) fuels considerations. The second technical evaluation looked at stress related issues (down-comer piping, supports, spargers, and torus loads).

The evaluations concluded that the as-found condition was bounded by margins which exist in current Hope Creek design analyses; thus, the aggregate effect of this condition has no Safety Significance. In all cases, the RCS would have remained within allowable limits, and safety-related systems relied upon during high-pressure events (HPCI, RCIC and SLC) would have functioned sufficiently in accordance with the station's design bases had an accident or limiting transient occurred during Cycle 20. Fuel limits were no adversely affected by this condition.

***You see the historic trajectory going on here with these defective valves. The pressure setpoint drift was originally plus or minus 1%. The design commitment reliability was never met in these defective valves. The fix with the excessive pressure setpoint drift was to jack the inaccuracy to plus or minus 3%. As with a bunch of electro plating coatings on the pilot disc and seat that never fixed the problem. The rate of drift went up to unbelievable levels. Cooper is required to have 7 of 8 SRV operable if within plus or minus 3%. They are trying to reduce it to be 5 of 8 SRV operable or be shutdown. You got to know this is a test case. The rest of the industry wants to get this way. 

I was led to believe the PI&G inspection was a result of me.

Sept 27 R1ALLIGATION RESOURCE  To me

 Mr. Mulligan, the attached letter responds to three concerns you raised to the NRC regarding the Hope Creek SRVs. As discussed in the letter, the NRC recently conducted a PI&R inspection at Hope Creek that addressed various aspects of SRV maintenance and operation, in addition to your three concerns. The results of the PI&R sample will be

The NRC is signaling me pretty seriously they want me to see this this next PI&R documented in an upcoming inspection report.

Please confirm receipt. Sincerely, Nicole Warnek Sr. Allegation Coordinator 610-337-5222 (Region I Safety Hotline) 800-432-1156 x5222 (Hotline, Toll Free) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region I 2100 Renaissance Blvd, Suite 100 King of Prussia, PA 19406 I will pass your question about insulation along to Steve Pindale (who as you know conducted the most recent SRV inspection.) As for your second request, the text is below. Sincerely, Nicole Warnek Sr. Allegation Coordinator 610-337-5222 (Region I Safety Hotline) 800-432-1156 x5222 (Hotline, Toll Free) RI-2017-A-0028 Mike Mulligan                                                                                              steamshovel2002@gmail.com    SUBJECT:  Concerns You Raised to the NRC Regarding Hope Creek Dear Mr. Mulligan: The NRC Region I Office has completed its follow up in response to the concerns that you brought to our attention on May 2 and 3, 2017, regarding Hope Creek.  Your concerns were related to the safety relief valves.  Enclosure 1 to this letter restates your concerns and describes our review and conclusions regarding each concern.  Thank you for informing us of your concerns.  Allegations are an important source of information in support of the NRC’s safety mission, and we take our safety responsibility to the public seriously within the bounds of our lawful authority.  If you have any questions or if the NRC can be of further assistance in this matter, please call us toll-free via the NRC Region I Safety Hotline at 1-800-432-1156, extension 5222, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, or contact me in writing at 2100 Renaissance Blvd, Suite 100, King of Prussia, PA, 19406. Sincerely, Nicole S. Warnek Senior Allegation Coordinator Enclosure:  As stated Concern 1: You asserted that there are commercial grade dedication problems concerning the Safety Relief Valves (SRVs) at Hope Creek. Response to Concern 1: NRC Assessment In July 2017 the NRC conducted a problem identification and resolution (PI&R) inspection sample focused on the SRVs at Hope Creek.  As part of this inspection, the inspector questioned Hope Creek staff regarding the use of non-Target Rock parts in the SRVs and associated solenoid valves and if any commercial grade dedicated parts were used.  PSEG staff indicated that they do not do commercial grade dedications (purchase class 2, or PC2) for SRV parts.  SRV parts that are safety-related are I am not sure what having commercial grade dedicated parts mean. It seem to me Target Rock basically doesn't make safety grade SRVs. A vender then upgrades the valves into safety related grade. They then sell it to HC. It the old days Target Rock would make safety grade. Accountability here is balkanized. You know, too many safety grades really translates into no safety grade. procured as PC1, which means they come qualified from an approved vendor.  Some parts are classified as PC3 (e.g. piping and valve insulation), which means they are not safety-related, but quality consideration is given.  The PC3 parts have augmented quality requirements, which are primarily vendor supplied and documentation is typically a certificate of conformance.  Finally, there are some items that are procured as non-safety related (PC4), such as gaskets, washers, and lubricants. The NRC inspectors reviewed the list of Hope Creek’s SRV PC4 parts and independently verified that these parts do not perform a safety function.  They are non-pressure retaining, non-load bearing, and do not have an active function.  Once they are properly installed, they have no credible failure mode that would impact the ability of the SRV to perform its safety function to maintain and relieve pressure.  Therefore, they are not required to undergo a commercial grade dedication process. NRC Conclusion Based on the results of our inspection, the NRC could not substantiate your concern that there are commercial grade dedication problems concerning the SRVs at Hope Creek. Concern 2: You asserted that there are Part 21 problems with the SRVs at Hope Creek. Response to Concern 2: NRC Assessment During the NRC PI&R inspection conducted in July 2017, the inspector noted that the Hope Creek staff were aware of the Part 21 issue associated with the 3-stage Target Rock SRVs.  As a result of the Part 21, PSEG had postponed the installation of a planned modification to use one or more 3-stage Target Rock SRVs at Hope Creek, pending resolution of the issues documented in the Part 21 report (i.e., Curtiss Wright Flow Control Co. – Target Rock Division; EN 50900, dated 3/17/15, and updated on 5/1/15, 6/30/15 and 2/3/17). These Part 21 Curtiss Wright reports and updates are associated with the Pilgrim 2015 SRV failures. Can you even believe how long it takes to understand and correct SRV failures. So the 2015 pilgrim SRV failure are preventing Hope Creek from installing their 3 stage SRVs.   NRC Conclusion Based on the results of our inspection, the NRC confirmed that a Part 21 report regarding 3-stage Target Rock valves (EN 50900) was evaluated for applicability at Hope Creek.  The NRC did not identify any inadequacy or impropriety associated with Hope Creek’s handling of this Part 21; therefore, your concern was not substantiated. Concern 3: You asserted that the SRVs at Hope Creek are in worse shape than the NRC knows.  Response to Concern 3: NRC Assessment The NRC maintains awareness of plant operating and equipment issues through NRC resident inspectors who report each work day to the Hope Creek station.  Additionally, specialist inspectors from the NRC’s Region I Office have conducted periodic focused inspections of PSEG’s performance to test and maintain SRVs over the years.  The last inspection report that documented NRC’s reviews and conclusions in this regard was NRC inspection report 05000354/2016001, Section 4OA2, dated May 10, 2016 (ML16131A095).  We expect that the results of our most recent inspection on this topic (the July 2017 PI&R sample) will be documented in an NRC integrated inspection report 05000354/2017003, due to be issued no later than November 14, 2017.  This report will be publicly available on the NRC website once it is issued, at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/oversight/listofrpts-body.html. NRC Conclusion Based on the results of our July 2017 onsite inspection, as well as previous inspections performed in this area, the NRC concluded that we are knowledgeable of the condition of the SRVs installed at Hope Creek, including the challenges the station has faced with maintaining the SRVs.  As such, we did not substantiate your concern that the SRVs at Hope Creek are in worse shape than the NRC knows. From: Mike Mulligan [mailto:steamshovel2002@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 10:06 AM To: R1ALLEGATION RESOURCE <R1ALLEGATION.RESOURCE@nrc.gov> Subject: [External_Sender] Re: Concerns You Raised to the NRC Regarding Hope Creek (RI-2017-A-0028) Nicole, I no longer communicate with the individual who gave me this information. I don't trust him. I see the NRC says the SRV insulation isn't safety related. I find this assertion ridiculous. So insulation has never been involved in the deterioration with the operability of the SRVS? I remember seeing many insulation issues with SRV LERs and inspection reports effecting component reliability. I remember my 2.206 concerning VY's actuator seals. Basically the valves weren't qualified for their environment. I believe the type I, type II component environmental mixup is in a VY inspection report.  Anyway, I thank the NRC for this report Could you send me a non photocopy copy of this document. I just want to copy and paste this document to my blog.  Mike On Wed, Sep 27, 2017 at 9:35 AM, R1ALLEGATION RESOURCE < R1ALLEGATION.RESOURCE@nrc.gov> wrote: Mr. Mulligan, the attached letter responds to three concerns you raised to the NRC regarding the Hope Creek SRVs. As discussed in the letter, the NRC recently conducted a PI&R inspection at Hope Creek that addressed various aspects of SRV maintenance and operation, in addition to your three concerns. The results of the PI&R sample will be documented in an upcoming inspection report. Please confirm receipt. Sincerely, Nicole Warnek Sr. Allegation Coordinator 610-337-5222 (Region I Safety Hotline) 800-432-1156 x5222 (Hotline, Toll Free) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region I 2100 Renaissance Blvd, Suite 100 King of Prussia, PA 19406 Mike Mulligan <steamshovel2002@gmail.com> 1:35 PM (1 hour ago) Nicole,  Thank you for everything you do. Just saying, I hope the PI&R inspection is congruent with SRV inspection report answering my concerns of a few years ago. I could get you the IR number if the NRC needs it.

Palisades: Dumb Idea

For a nuclear plant to operate properly they need a secure and reliable source of funding. These guys are throttling money to this plant thinking within a few years it will be shutdown. They were never designed for this kind of funding. I think Entergy is prioritizing resources going into their plants. This guy would be on the bottom of the list with prioritization.

Do you think this was a result of the Trump election.  

Entergy to continue operating Palisades nuclear power plant until Spring 2022

September 28, 2017

By PennEnergy Editorial Staff

Source: Entergy

 Entergy Corporation plans to operate Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, until the spring of 2022, under the existing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Consumers Energy.

“In light of the Michigan Public Service Commission’s order issued September 22, which granted Consumers Energy recovery of only $136.6 million of the $172 million it requested for the buyout of the PPA, the parties have agreed to terminate the buyout transaction,” said Charlie Arnone, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at Palisades.

[Native Advertisement]

This announcement reverses Entergy’s December 2016 decision to close Palisades on October 1, 2018, but Entergy remains committed to its strategy of exiting the merchant nuclear power business.

The impact of the decision on free cash flow is expected to be positive $100 million to $150 million compared to the PPA amendment with Consumers Energy. In addition, due to the change in operating assumptions, under applicable accounting rules we no longer expect fuel, refueling outage costs and capital expenditures to be expensed as incurred. Instead, these expenditures will be amortized or depreciated over their useful lives and the expense will be included in operational results.

This is the Southern Company and Voglte 3 and 4 in a year

So basically the licensees have total control of site information as long as the money keeps flowing. Then the truth comes out when the money stops. These are basically very complication business, political and public events. This reminds of cascaded event. It eventually totally overwhelms the executives and regulators of  all styles. This will be Vogtle in a year. Remember how the Southern company has handled their clean coal plant failure. I just think the whole lot of them is riddled with corruption. Nobody is ethical and the laws have been weakened over the decades, they just enforce even the weak laws.

The failure of Summer is drawing massive attention and transparency forces into these unprecedented event. The times that we live under is highly unstable. There is just too much black and white thinking. Forces will turn on you in a dime when the money stops flowing. It is going to upend the politics in Southern Carolina and seriously threaten the business theology in the south.  

This will be the Vogtle and Southern Company in a year. The cascading event will shock you for years on end.

The theme here across the nation are the utilities are trying to put on the grid the most expensive electricity they can think of to mitigate the depressionary forces of cheap natural gas.

SCANA’s future cloudy as furor over failed nuclear plant intensifies

By SAMMY FRETWELL

September 27, 2017 8:19 PM

Reeling from its failure to complete two nuclear reactors, Cayce-based SCANA is on the ropes, struggling to survive as the only major investor-owned power company headquartered in South Carolina.

Angry ratepayers are filing lawsuits, federal and state agencies are investigating, and politicians are promising to bar the utility from getting any more money from customers to pay for the bungled V.C. Summer reactor project, northwest of Columbia.

The state Office of Regulatory Staff also took steps Tuesday that could force SCANA to repay up to $1.7 billion that it has collected from customers for the project. The agency takes its case Thursday to the state Public Service Commission.

Once a pillar of Columbia’s business community, questions now are being raised about whether SCANA will be forced to file for bankruptcy or if a larger, out-of-state utility will seek to acquire SCE&G’s parent company.

SCANA’s troubles have sent its stock price plummeting to its lowest point in months — closing at $51.22 a share Wednesday, down from $75 in early summer.

Some state lawmakers say they want to see SCANA remain a S.C.-headquartered business. But they also are incensed over the nuclear reactor project’s failure.

“There has been a lot of concern about this and does it hurt South Carolina to lose its only investor-owned utility,’’ said state Rep. James, Smith, D-Richland. “However, the utility is reaping what they have sown.’’

Smith, a member of a House committee investigating the nuclear project’s failure, said “accountability is essential.’’

‘A much harsher stand’

SCANA and its junior partner, the state-owned Santee Cooper utility, shut down the two-reactor project they were building July 31.

The bankruptcy of chief contractor Westinghouse was a major reason the project could not be finished, the utilities said, adding the project had become too expensive and was not needed, as energy demand leveled off.

By then, however, the companies had spent $9 billion on the project and raised their customers’ rates 14 times to pay for the work.

Securities analysts interviewed by The State said they doubt SCANA, a relatively small utility, would be an attractive target for a bigger utility to buy — at least now. There is too much uncertainty surrounding the company, they said.

Neil Kalton, with Wells Fargo Securities, said a key drawback for SCANA is the lack of clarity over whether the company will be able to recoup its costs associated with the nuclear plant. The company previously had said it wanted up to $2.2 billion from ratepayers to help offset the costs of the failed plant.

“Really, this whole cost-recovery issue needs to be resolved before (other) parties might come in,’’ Kalton said of SCANA’s attractiveness as a takeover target.

Bankruptcy would grant SCANA relief from lawsuits by ratepayers and stockholders seeking damages, while giving it time to reorganize, said Elliott, who represents the S.C. Energy Users Committee, a group of industries that use large amounts of electricity.

Should a larger utility acquire SCANA and stabilize electricity rates, it could be a win for customers, some legislators say.

North Carolina’s Duke Energy, Dominion Energy of Virginia and the Southern Co. of Georgia have been mentioned as possible suitors.

“Duke has been a good operator in South Carolina,’’ said state Sen. Greg Gregory, R-Lancaster. “They would be capable of taking over SCE&G and running it.’’

State Rep. Kirkman Finlay, R-Richland, said providing customers with more affordable power rates and less devotion to stockholders would cure a lot of SCANA’s ills.

“Their lineman are getting screamed at, their employees are getting screamed at, and they had nothing to do with this,’’ Finlay said. “We need somebody who can come in there, cut costs, save the company and restore its credibility.’’

Attorney says Gov. McMaster considering him to help run Santee Cooper

Columbia attorney Steve Hamm said Wednesday that Gov. Henry McMaster contacted him several weeks ago about whether Hamm would help out with Santee Cooper’s leadership.

Hamm, executive director of the S.C. Ethics Commission, said the governor has not extended a formal offer. But Hamm said he would consider an offer.

“This is not something that I have sought,” said Hamm, who once was the state’s longtime consumer advocate, sometimes arguing electric rate cases.

Santee Cooper’s current chief executive, Lonnie Carter, announced last month he will retire early next year.

The state-owned Santee Cooper utility was the junior partner with SCANA in the aborted attempt to build two nuclear power plants in Fairfield County.

Santee Cooper is managed by a board of directors whose members are appointed by the governor — who has said he wants to sell the utility — with the consent of the state Senate. The board chooses the CEO.

Hamm said he would take the job without any preconditions. “I don’t have any marching orders.”

Before recommending any action, Hamm said, he would want to work with experts to study Santee Cooper’s obligations and debt.

Junk Plant River Bend: Power Has Been Jumping Around Like A Grasshopper For Last 6 Days

Where did Grand Gulf go?

Vogtle At The Precipice

Imagine if the non licensed engineer is big here?

The good news for backers of Plant Vogtle’s expanded nuclear capacity  

By Jim Galloway

September 26, 2017

| Filed in: Elections - Local and Region, Georgia Legislature, Georgia Power, Johnny Isakson

Plant Vogtle construction site in 2016. Johnny Edwards, jedwards@ajc.com

Last week, a small but influential online magazine that follows energy and environmental issues noted a slight shift in the Washington pecking order.

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has been placed in charge of the survival of nuclear energy in the United States, E&E Daily reported. Isakson inherits the informal position from his Senate colleagues in South Carolina, where utilities decided to abandon the construction of two nuclear reactors.

The cancellation leaves just two new nuclear units being built in the United States — both a part of the Plant Vogtle expansion in east Georgia.

“We’re kind of the last of the Indians here, with South Carolina dropping out,” Isakson said via telephone this week. “We’re not only the lead dog – we’re the only dog.”

If you follow Georgia politics, you’re probably aware of the two election cycles currently in play. Leadership contests in Georgia cities will resolve themselves in November or, as is likely in Atlanta mayor’s race, with a December runoff.

Then there’s the 2018 race for governor and other state elections. A first culling will come with the May primaries.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R – Ga. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

But there’s a third campaign in between – the fight over Georgia Power’s decision to continue the construction of two new nuclear reactors. The Vogtle expansion was already more than three years behind schedule and $3 billion over budget when its key contractor, Westinghouse Electric, filed bankruptcy in March.

The campaign to save the Vogtle expansion — or kill it — has two legs. The state Public Service Commission voted last week to begin a review of Georgia Power’s plan to keep going that will culminate with an up-or-down vote in February.

Georgia Power presents its case in November. Opponents have their say in December.

Then there’s the fight in D.C. that Isakson now has charge of, which is likely to play out in the final days of 2017.

Georgia Power and other sponsors of the Vogtle expansion are eligible for an $800 million tax credit if the reactors are up and operating by Jan. 1, 2021.

The tax credit is essential to making the expansion economically viable. But hope of meeting that deadline has dried up. Georgia Power says the new reactors will be operational by late 2022, at a cost of $28 billion — about double the original estimate.

Isakson said he’s likely to tack an extension for the nuclear energy tax credit to “catch-all” legislation in late December, perhaps coupled with tax breaks targeted for wind, solar or biomass interests.

“There are plenty of opportunities. There are also plenty of folks who have an interest in tax credits in the Senate who will need help getting theirs through,’ Isakson said. “I know who they are and where some of them live.”

Isakson’s new role as a protector of nuclear power has an element of karma. In the early 1980s, at the beginning of his political career and when he first became the House minority leader in the state Capitol, Isakson was a key supporter of legislation that allowed the first nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle to be built.

So it’s no surprise that, like Gov. Nathan Deal, Isakson is giving full-throated support to Georgia Power’s decision to persevere. “To let what’s been done go to the wayside would be a tremendous injustice for our people,” Isakson said.

The political hazard is ratepayer resentment. Georgia Power customers have paid roughly $4 billion in surcharges to cover financing costs associated with Plant Vogtle — an advance payment made possible in 2009 by the Legislature.

All five members of the PSC are Republican. Two members, Chairman Stan Wise and Chuck Eaton, are up for re-election in November 2018.

But advocates for continuing construction of the two new Vogtle reactors got some good news on Monday.

Over the last few months, utilities with aging nuclear reactors in several states – Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey included — have found themselves under increased economic pressure from cheap natural gas, and have sought direct state subsidies.

In each case, environmentalists and consumer advocates have voiced concern, but it has been the American Petroleum Institute, a trade organization that also represents the fracking industry, that has largely financed the opposition.

PSC Chairman Wise said he’s been told the API does not plan to participate in the debate over Vogtle — which means that opponents of the Vogtle expansion will have to look elsewhere for cash.

Another development has also emerged over the last few months that could bode well for Vogtle supporters. We’ve seen Democrats attempt to nationalize the Sixth District congressional contest in Georgia. Democrat Stacey Abrams aims to do the same in next year’s gubernatorial contest.

Plant Vogtle supporters are following suit. They’re not abandoning their arguments for cheap, locally produced energy, but they’re also invoking the name of Vladimir Putin.

Keeping up this country’s nuclear expertise is essential to blocking the spread of nuclear weapons, argues Michael Shellenberger, co-founder of Breakthrough Institute, a think tank that focuses on environmental issues. He supports the expansion of nuclear power as an answer to climate change, but has also begun to argue that U.S. influence abroad is at stake, too.

“The United States has been really the leader and pioneer of creating teams and human infrastructure – nuclear cops at the [International Energy Agency] and elsewhere — to prevent any diversion of materials for weapons,” Shellenberger said.

“Nuclear energy isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “The Russians and the Chinese are going to dominate that market. So then it becomes a question of how concerned are you that the Russians and Chinese will be as effective as the United States has been in preventing the spread of weapons.”

At least one PSC member, Tim Echols, has echoed these sentiments. And Isakson said the national security argument is giving him additional traction in Washington.

Nuclear expertise, he said, is devolving on “Russia, China and a lot of other people who aren’t our friends.

“All the nuclear component parts – all the stuff is built in Japan and other places around the world. They’re not built in the United States,” Isakson said.

And that, friends, is the unfinished tale of an American nuclear renaissance that is close to going bust.

Licensed Engineers Optional At The Failed Summer Facility

Is it a NRC requirement?

Failing the 'prudent' test

On Sunday, The Post and Courier reported that not only had SCANA used unlicensed engineers to draw up hundreds of constantly-revised and sometimes impossible-to-build plans, but that in doing so the utility and its lead contractor Westinghouse might have violated state law.

South Carolina requires that drawings for large construction projects be stamped and signed by a licensed engineer. The law is designed to protect the public from potential hazards by ensuring that top professionals provide oversight to major works.
Obviously, the risks posed by nuclear reactors are significant, making that oversight even more critical.
And yet, SCANA and Westinghouse appear to have proceeded through years of construction — and constant delays, revisions and cost overruns — in disregard of those rules.,,

North Korea: Declaration of War on USA

I am surprised they haven't started shooting yet.

North Korea Says It Has the Right to Shoot Down U.S. Warplanes

By RICK GLADSTONESEPT. 25, 2017

North Korea’s foreign minister escalated tensions with the United States on Monday, saying that President Trump’s threatening comments about the country and its leadership were “a declaration of war” and that North Korea had the right to shoot down American warplanes, even if they are not in North Korean air space.

“The whole world should clearly remember it was the U.S. who first declared war on our country,” the foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, told reporters as he was leaving the United Nations after a week of General Assembly meetings in New York.

“Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country,” he said...

The Highly Suspicious High Altitude ICBM Test

Update Sept 2

I predicted it on 9/25. The implication of a successful test is mind boggling. This guy is a dead man and he knows it. As I said earlier, this guy is on the road to suicide.

It will knock out a lot of satellites if it is a high altitude burst.

CNN: North Korea could test a powerful nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean in response to US President Donald Trump's threats of military action, the country's foreign minister has warned.

Ri Yong Ho spoke to reporters in New York shortly after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made an unprecedented televised statement, accusing Trump of being "mentally deranged."

Originally published 9/25

OK, the setup. We proactively destroy the coastal ICBM, then they launch the doomsday ICBM from a secret interior site? 

Damn, these low probability and high consequence events, and increasingly becoming probable. It is now in the realm of doable. The mother of all black swan events.

They won't need any reentry technology...

Hmm, what about those extremely hypersonic experimental missiles we got. It could get to NKorea in a few ten minutes or so.

Scenario: How about the North Koreans detonating a hydrogen bomb/EMP in a inhabitable part of the pacific with insignificant damage. How will the world respond? Maybe a simultaneous invasion of Soul?

Will a high altitude hydrogen detonation, or set of detonations, destroy or destabilize our magnetic fields or ionosphere??? Do we got any surprises underneath this?

Could they knock out the space station? Yes, from a long way away. It would be a slow and gruesome deaths.  

It is a widespread satellite killer!!!

Honestly, North Korea is mostly not electrified. A EMP won't hurt them, especially with prior notification.

A large percentage of our nuclear plants melting down.

Think about it, we would lose a tremendous amount US wealth and our financial system would immediately freeze up. It would be a financial catastrophe for the whole world. 

I feel like now I am on the tv series the "Last Ship"? 


Honestly, we can't allow them to launch another missile!!! 

North Korea has conducted a new intercontinental ballistic missile test, South Korea and the Pentagon say.

The missile reached an altitude of about 3,000km (1,865 miles) and landed in the sea off Japan, the Japanese national broadcaster NHK said.

It comes three weeks after North Korea's first ICBM test.

In response, the US and South Korean military conducted a live-firing exercise using surface-to-surface missiles, a US defence official said.

The missiles were fired into the "territorial waters of South Korea along the east coast," a US military statement said.

The latest North Korean missile flew higher, further and for longer than the one in early July. Its launch has been condemned by a number of countries.

The test - the 14th carried out by North Korea in 2017 - is the latest to be conducted in defiance of a UN ban.

US President Donald Trump called it "only the latest reckless and dangerous action by the North Korean regime".

Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said that initial indications showed the latest missile had a range of about 10,000km - far enough to strike the west coast of the United States and beyond.

The Washington Post reported that Denver and possibly Chicago could now be in North Korea's range.

Here is the doomsday site. Want they are really telegraphing to us is they can launch the doomday missile from anywhere they want. Launching it in darkness? Lets see, it nighttime in Nkorean, and daylight in the USA.

The latest missile was launched at 23:41 (15:41 GMT) from an arms plant in Jagang province in the north of the country, the Pentagon said.

It is unusual for North Korea to launch a missile at night - the significance is as yet unclear. No missiles had been fired from Jagang province before, indicating a previously-unknown launch site is operational.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missile flew for about 45 minutes - some six minutes longer than the ICBM tested in early July…