Grand Gulf Senior NRC Resident Inspector Sits In Utter Awe Of My Capabilities!!!

update Feb 2

I made a mistake. Grand Gulf remained shutdown. It was River Bend that scrammed. 

The NRC and their oversite program just can't control these guys. This is unprecedented!!!!! 

Power Reactor	Event Number: 53192
Facility: RIVER BEND Region: 4 State: LA Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-6 NRC Notified By: Timothy Gates HQ OPS Officer: VINCE KLCO	Notification Date: 02/01/2018 Notification Time: 14:23 [ET] Event Date: 02/01/2018 Event Time: 10:57 [CST] Last Update Date: 02/01/2018
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL	Person (Organization): RICK DEESE (R4DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	M/R	Y	27	Power Operation	0	Hot Shutdown

Event Text

MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM "At 1057 CST on February 1, 2018 with the unit in Mode 1 at approximately 27% power, a manual actuation of the Reactor Protection System (RPS) was initiated due to an unexpected trip of the B Recirc Pump with A Recirc Pump in fast speed. B Recirc Pump tripped during transfer from slow to fast speed resulting in single loop operation. Operators were unable to reconcile differing indications of core flow. This resulted in a conservative decision to initiate a manual scram. The cause of the B Recirc Pump trip and the apparent issues with core flow indication are under investigation. The plant is currently stable in Mode 3. "The plant response to the scram was as expected. All control rods [fully] inserted as expected; the feedwater system is maintaining reactor vessel water level in the normal control band and reactor pressure is being maintained with steam line drains and main turbine bypass valves. "The NRC Senior Resident [Inspector] has been notified."

Update

The NRC got to stop fooling around with these guys. You want them to be another ANO? They are a still a barely functional organization four years after entering the worst plant category. GG needs a long term shutdown. Entergy needs to taste this punishment. GG needs to massively upgrade their plant with new equipment.  

***Well, the Turbine Control valves aren't a secondary system? 

Yesterday I called my senior resident buddy at Grand Gulf. He got promoted. It was his last day at the plant. He is going to be boss of a set of inspectors in region I. He was leaving the plant

Junk Entergy Plant Grand Gulf At 17%, And Their Southern Regional Problem

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: Extraordinary Erratic Startup From Last Refueling Outage 

permanently at noon. We talked extensively about the erratic operation of Grand Gulf for years and specifically about the current erratic thirteen day startup from the last scram or shutdown. I believe out talk was completed at about 10 am yesterday. So about eight hours after our conversation another scram sets in. I mean, these two events are a extraordinary coincident.       

Power Reactor	Event Number: 53188
Facility: GRAND GULF Region: 4 State: MS Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-6 NRC Notified By: RALPH FLICKINGER HQ OPS Officer: DONG HWA PARK	Notification Date: 01/30/2018 Notification Time: 21:56 [ET] Event Date: 01/30/2018 Event Time: 18:22 [CST] Last Update Date: 01/30/2018
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) - VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUATION	Person (Organization): RICK DEESE (R4DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	M/R	Y	91	Power Operation	0	Hot Shutdown

Event Text

MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO MAIN TURBINE LOAD OSCILLATIONS "On 1/30/2018 at 1750 [CST], the Reactor Pressure Control Malfunctions ONEP [Off Normal Event Procedure] was entered due to main turbine load oscillations of approximately 30 MWe peak to peak. At 1822 [CST], a manual reactor scram was inserted by placing the Reactor Mode Switch in Shutdown due to continued main turbine load oscillations. "Reactor SCRAM ONEP, Turbine Trip ONEP, and EP-2 were entered. Reactor water level was stabilized at 36 inches narrow range on startup level and reactor pressure stabilized at 933 psig using main turbine bypass valves. "Reactor Water Level 3 (11.4 inches) was reached which is the setpoint for Group 2 (RHR to Radwaste Isolation) and Group 3 (Shutdown Cooling Isolation). No valve isolated in these systems due to all isolation valves in these groups being in their normally closed position. The lowest Reactor Water level reached was -36 inches wide range. "No other safety system actuations occurred and all systems performed as designed. "That event is being reported under 10CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) as any event or condition that results in actuation of the Reactor Protection System (RPS), when the reactor is critical and also reported under 10CFR 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A), as any event or condition that results in actuation of RPS." The MSIVs are open with decay heat being removed via steam to the main condenser using the bypass valves. Off site power is stable, and the plant is in a normal shutdown electrical lineup. RCIC (Reactor Core Isolation Cooling) was out of service for maintenance, and the reactor water level did not reach the system activation level. The cause of the main turbine load oscillations being investigated. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Junk Entergy Plant Grand Gulf At 17%, And Their Southern Regional Problem

Updated Feb 2

River Bend Just scrammed. The term in my heading "Their Southern Regional Problem" means, I understood Grand Gulf's historic erratic operation is not just a plant centric problem, but a Entergy regional weakness.   


Reposted from 1/17/18

Unbelievable. So this startup the peak power level got to 91%.  

Facility: GRAND GULF Region: 4 State: MS Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-6 NRC Notified By: RALPH FLICKINGER HQ OPS Officer: DONG HWA PARK	Notification Date: 01/30/2018 Notification Time: 21:56 [ET] Event Date: 01/30/2018 Event Time: 18:22 [CST] Last Update Date: 01/30/2018
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) - VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUATION	Person (Organization): RICK DEESE (R4DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	M/R	Y	91	Power Operation	0	Hot Shutdown

Event Text

MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO MAIN TURBINE LOAD OSCILLATIONS "On 1/30/2018 at 1750 [CST], the Reactor Pressure Control Malfunctions ONEP [Off Normal Event Procedure] was entered due to main turbine load oscillations of approximately 30 MWe peak to peak. At 1822 [CST], a manual reactor scram was inserted by placing the Reactor Mode Switch in Shutdown due to continued main turbine load oscillations. "Reactor SCRAM ONEP, Turbine Trip ONEP, and EP-2 were entered. Reactor water level was stabilized at 36 inches narrow range on startup level and reactor pressure stabilized at 933 psig using main turbine bypass valves. "Reactor Water Level 3 (11.4 inches) was reached which is the setpoint for Group 2 (RHR to Radwaste Isolation) and Group 3 (Shutdown Cooling Isolation). No valve isolated in these systems due to all isolation valves in these groups being in their normally closed position. The lowest Reactor Water level reached was -36 inches wide range. "No other safety system actuations occurred and all systems performed as designed. "That event is being reported under 10CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) as any event or condition that results in actuation of the Reactor Protection System (RPS), when the reactor is critical and also reported under 10CFR 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A), as any event or condition that results in actuation of RPS." The MSIVs are open with decay heat being removed via steam to the main condenser using the bypass valves. Off site power is stable, and the plant is in a normal shutdown electrical lineup. RCIC (Reactor Core Isolation Cooling) was out of service for maintenance, and the reactor water level did not reach the system activation level. The cause of the main turbine load oscillations being investigated. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Update Jan 30
80%

I just got done talking with to the senior resident. He emediately recognized my voice. Amazingly it is his last day at the site. He leaving permanently at noon. He got promoted. I have been talking to him on and off for years. He is going to be boss of inspectors at Beaver Valley, TMI and Oyster Creek. He is a good guy.

So basically Grand Gulf is a very troubled plant. Upon the extended shutdown, the resident says Entergy seen the light. They wiped out management and brought in new people. The plant has gotten extremely safety consciences. Every little burp they are investigating intensely and down powers on a whim. They are a regulated plant, so the ratepayers pick up the tab. So that  is the nature of the startup problems. He said recently the plant has a secondary pipe steam leak. This caused one down power. That cut out the pipe and put in new a new piped. They also cut out four other similar pipes and welded in new pipe. The senior said per regulations they could have just ignored  the leak. That is the way they did business in the past.

He also implied the secondary system are a mess. They just didn't spend big money keeping them in good shape beginning in the 1990s. He thought Grand Gulf was going on a massive secondary system refurbishment next outage. I still think the massively expensive uprate somewhere beginning in around 2012 is at the root of their penny pinching leading to their secondary system problems today.

I mean, what is going on in this plant that is causing them to bounce around power so much.

Update Jan 29

Ok, the scram should be coming around any day now. Is it just one 

***(Jan 31) So, about 24 hours they have the scram I predicted the scram and look how close the scram was to my prediction. You got to create a pretty complete model in your head to be able to do what I can do. 

big problem dogging these guys this startup, or a set of problems showing up causing this kind of power history.

Jan 27 61%

Jan 28 81%

Jan 29 87%

Update June 26

80%

Jun 25
78%

Jan 24
Back to 63% power today.

Update Jan 23
They will run out of fuel before they can get it up to 100%. At 70% today.

Update Jan 22
Highly erratic and extremely slow startup post shutdown.
Fri 40% power
Sat 61%
Sun 66%
Mon 54%
River Bend is still shutdown and ANO up to 100%. Good boy ANO.

Update Jan 19
Traveling at the speed of light. Up to 40% today. That is a whopping 13% power in 24 hours. It will be refueling time by the time they get to 100% power. Talking about wasteful operations. Say a normal nuclear plant has a capacity of 95% power and a bad plant has 50% capacity factor. So what happens to the bad plant's U235 with 45% capacity factor? It is not like a car who has been idle for a month. What happens to the gas you didn't use in the idle month? It is just money you didn't spend, you could divert it to other uses. But it doesn't work that way for the nukes. That 45% average capacity factor, an enormous amount of U235 and electricity they didn't use with poorly operating nuclear plants...that good U235 they just throw in the nuclear plant. A plant plans for how much U235 and particular pin concentration  they will use for a  particular estimated capacity over the operating period. It is a extremely complicated process refueling the total cycle's U235 fuel load and their particular pin concentration. We just don't have the ability yet to use all the estimated cycle fuel load that ends up not used because of a poor capacity. That 45% average capacity factor (the equivalent U2350) not used in the bad plant, it gets thrown in the toilet. The safety rules says, that gas you didn't use in the idle car for a month, it can't be deferred for later use. Nobody can use it. The U235 has to be thrown away.

Just saying, that U235 Grand Gulf didn't use in their historically atrocious capacity factor over many years, it is just a waste and thrown away. They are effectively using some twice the U235 fuel than a good plant.

Update Jan 18

Grand Gulf is up to a whopping 27% power in 24 hours.  Remember recently, the troubled Pilgrim plant shutdown? In 24 hours of startup they were at 50% power . In another 24 hours, damn close to 100%.

Hmm, ANO 2 is at 95% power.

***So Grand Gulf just started up. They been having a lot of staying at power problems lately. 

ANO 2 is still at 81%.

River Bend is still shutdown. 

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: Extraordinary Erratic Startup From Last Refueling Outage

Reposted again from 1/9

Update Jan 12

So River Bend and Grand Gulf are still shutdown..

Pilgrim below is a example of a normal good startup. Remember the full force of the designed systems core protection is high in the power level. At 100% your are protected most(negative temperature or void coefficient).

Pilgrim's recent startup.

Jan 10 10%

Jan 11 50%

Jan 12 98%

Originally posted on 12/27. Reposted on 1/9 

Update Jan 9

I'll make the case this kind of "outside the box" operational behavior is setting up the probability of having a nuclear accident we never seen before.   

They shutdown last night. It wasn't a scram but a controlled shutdown. They weaselled out of a report on this and more inspections.

Just saying, River Bend, Pilgrim and Grand Gulf have had recent abnormal shutdowns. Only Pilgrim had a really abnormal and dangerous scram in poor weather. What does this say about Entergy?  

(Jan 31: Plant scram on Jan 30. Man am good.) My prediction on Jan 2. A week later, it comes true.

"I have made these prediction so many times, and they always come true. I have got to be wrong eventually. I give them a month before they have a big down power or scram???"

Update Jan 8

Not a good weekend. The length of these constant power changes is unprecedented and a risk to safety.   

Jan 8 86%

Jan 7 97%

Jan 6 66%

I would count all these power garbage as constituting a big down power event.  

Update Jan 5

oops, back tracked to 92%, Isn't it fun watching these guys? 

Update Jan 4

Stuck at 93%

Update Jan 3

stuck at 93%

Jan 2 2018

Happy New Years

Grand Gulf at 93%

I have made these prediction so many times, and they always come true. I have got to be wrong eventually. I give them a month before they have a big down power or scram???
update Dec 26

55%  50% power

The rube here is, these erratic power operations have been going on for years now.

Dec 24 45%

Dec 25 65%

Dec 26 50%

Dec 27 69%

Dec 28 55%

Dec 29 79%

Why Can't Our Technically Advanced Plants Follow The Load

In the early days our fuel rods where designed as fragile. They chose the cheapest form of fuel system available. As the industry matured, we just don't put big money in fuel research. By the way, the US Navy has been using metallic fuel before you were even born. It is unbelievable how fast they can do a startup and follow gigantic steam demand changes without any leaking fuel.   

I wonder if the new designed Lightbridge metallic fuel will do the trick. It is a bad time for a new fuel. It really hasn't fully been tested yet. Crazy deregulation within the NRC is going on, It ups the chance big problems get inserted into the core.  

Can France Mix Nuclear and Renewable Power?

France’s nuclear giant has a plan to survive the wave of renewable energy that’s sweeping aside old-fashioned utilities across Europe. First it needs to disprove the conventional wisdom about how reactors work.

Electricite de France SA says its fleet of nuclear reactors aren’t just able to provide a steady stream of power, they’re flexible enough to complement a large fluctuating supply of renewable energy. Combined with a 25 billion-euro ($31 billion) solar plan and potential investments in huge batteries, the utility says it can ride out the energy upheaval, while also helping the French government fulfill its goal of cutting reliance on nuclear power.

“Our nuclear is flexible, it’s variable,” said EDF Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy. “Renewable energies are totally complementary.”…

98% of our Nuclear Plant Electricty Comes from Kazakhstan, Niger, Russia

Update Feb 1

The NRC Import/Export guy gave me a call. We talked for about one hour. He was a very nice guy. Basically he said the NRC is set up for safety of nuclear plants and others. He basically said no one in the NRC has any idea how much foreign uranium or special nuclear materials are used in the USA. Special nuclear material is basically yellow cake and any increase concentration of U235.

Michael Mulligan <steamshovel2002@yahoo.com>

To:OPA.Resource@nrc.gov

‎Feb‎ ‎1 at ‎7‎:‎58‎ ‎PM

Christopher Douglas

They think I might get the NYT's to help me. I talked to the NRC import/ export branch chief today. Everything is obscured surround this. I can't wait for, Mike you are going to throw in FOIA talk.

Mike

The setup of laws and the assortment of US agencies is to obscure the true extent of foreign uranium, at the behest of the utilities, in domestic nuclear reactor. Our main sources of uranium comes from extremely unstable countries and this is making the US nuclear increasing unstable. I contend our US monies are increasing going to nefarious purposes. I also contend the US utilities money can be used against US for bad purposes in these shaky countries.             

Updated Jan 31

I talked to lots of NRC officials. Hmm, the import/export arm of the NRC and a local and Washington Public Affair guys. Sent a memo to the Washington guy.

The local PA guy posed a interesting question. He doesn't believe the numbers. He posed, we have a lot of nuclear fuel facilities in the USA. Maybe(me) its for our Navy. I know they recycle their fuel though.

I wonder what percentage of the Navy's fuel comes from foreign sources? 

In the Megaton to Megawatts day, I thought the system was riddle with fraud. Uranium not associated with nuclear weapons was leaking into the program. In my days interested in this, I found some 90% of our nuclear fuel was coming from unstable and poorly governed areas. The vast amount of fuel came from Russia. Where did our millions of dollars go? To help  the Russians become a better country or go to the Russian mafia or dispersed as worldwide terrorism and national destabilization programs. The Russian get our hard currency, the Americans get cheap uranium with little employee safety oversight by government authorities and zero environmental care. It severely undermine are US uranium markets too.  The foreign employees are basically poor slaves in this condition...we get cheap uranium to power our nuclear plants to keep them viable and healthy profits to the struggling industry.

If I was head of some anti nuke group, I'd be making at lot of hay about how our nuclear industry is so severely dependent on Russian uranium and others. In my days, I was told 90% of our nuclear plants were power up by the Russians. It must be over 95% today. How much would it hurt the Russians if we prohibited Russian uranium into the USA, also refining to yellow cake and centrifuging services? How much could the Russians damage us if they prohibited selling uranium services to us?  

I think the uranium one adventure was basically a market blocking thing. Russia and others was making so much money over us, this was their attempt to capture the US Uranium market. They were trying to block US new Uranium from enter the US market. 

The utility industry holds tremendous sway over our politicians. This is just a example with how they hold vice gripe powers over our lives. Whether is our Nuclear One scandal Republicans or the greedy money grubbing Democrats, everyone is terrified by the powerful electric utilities. Nobody wants to damage the electric utilities by talking about our extraordinary dependence on foreign uranium coming from very shaky countries. 

So we are becoming a mega petroleum and natural gas producer country. Why can't we do that with uranium? 

The antinukes, I think they are in bed with the nuclear industry...

“Is the U.S. Too Relianton Foreign Uranium for Nuclear Power Plant Fuel?”

Amir Adnani, founder, president, and CEO of Uranium Energy Corp., spoke to POWER about the state of the nuclear industry. He suggested a national security crisis is looming in the U.S. The reason is that the nuclear reactor fleet requires about 50 million pounds of uranium per year to opethe other rate. However, U.S. mines are currently on pace to produce less than 1 million pounds of uranium this year. That means roughly 98% of the fuel must be imported. Much of the uranium available in the market comes from nations such as Kazakhstan, Niger, Russia, and Uzbekistan—not exactly countries the U.S. should feel comfortable relying on.

Gigantic Economic Boom Approaching???

Update Jan 30

CNBC:The Dow Jones industrial average fell 177 points on Monday, on the back of a rise in the 10-year treasury yield, raising concerns that higher interest rates could douse the bull market. The Dow, along with the S&P 500, posted its worst decline of the year on Monday.

Long-dated Treasury yields climbed further on Tuesday, with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield trading near levels not seen since 2014, amid fears of higher inflation. The benchmark yield started the year trading around 2.4 percent.

***Honestly, Trump looks crazy to me. But maybe he knows the system better than anyone else. Who could even predicted he could win the presidency.

Somebody needs to ask how deep and long lasting will the Boom become. You know, unfair trade packs, America First, big tax reduction, a falling dollar and more manufacturing in the USA. A gigantic defense buildup and a pretty big infrastructure. We really need a infrastructure 10 times size of the proposed one trillion dollar current one. How much new electricity and power plants will we need for the Boom???

Remember the utilities didn't get the size of the natural gas miracle for about a decade. They still don't want to know how much bigger there potential with NG growth will get. The utilities have a horrible time predicting future demand of electricity and the end of technological innovation.  

In  many economic booms the utilities never built out their system to keep up with demand. Will soon we get a historic spike in the demand of electricity?

This is in the shadow of the Summer nuclear plant. I am only positive with the nuclear plants if we meet demand with new plants. It is a waste of money spending money keeping the old dogs alive.