TVA disputes claim on nuke plant costs

TVA disputes claim
on nuke plant costs
by LAURA SIMMONS 10/14/84
News-Sentinel staff writer

TVA power planners Tuesday
disputed a claim by a ratepayers'
group that it will cost more to re-
start and operate Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant than it would to build
a new coal-fired plant to replace it.
The Tennessee Valley Energy
Coalition report claimed it will cost
TVA 8.61 cents per kilowatt-hour
to restart the north Alabama plant,
while it would cost 8.39 cents per
kwh to build a coal-fired steam
plant to replace that power.
Lynn Maxwell, chief of TVA's
power-planning staff, said TVA's
estimate is that it will cost 5.6 cents
per kwh to restore Browns Ferry to
service and to operate it during its
remaining life span.
"We asked all those questions
that TVEC asked and looked at a
range of costs for each of those to
see if it changed" the economic jus-
tification for restoring the aging
plant, Maxwell said. "It didn't."
Maxwell said that even under
worst-case circumstances, the TVA
analysis of restart costs is substan-
tially lower than building a new
coal-fired steam plant.
One of the issues raised in the
TVEC report is TVA's estimate of
the cost of decommissioning
Browns Ferry.
TVA estimates the cost at $224
million.
Based on the cost of decommis-
sioning the Shippingport, Pa., reac-
tor, the largest reactor decommis-
sioned thus far, TVEC estimates
that decommissioning Browns Fer-
ry could cost as much as $6 billion.
"Our estimate of decommission-
ing costs are based on estimates
generally available in the nuclear
industry," Maxwell said.
The TVEC report also chal-
lenged TVA's estimates that
Browns Ferry will have a lifetime of
40 years.
The high number of forced shut-
downs for maintenance during the
plant's lifetime will shorten the
plant's lifetime, the TVEC report
said.
The TVEC report called on TVA
to halt repairs to Browns Ferry
Units 1 and 3 "until a determination
can be made that the restart of
Browns Ferry is a cost-effective
option."