TVA urged to scrap nuke plant, mothball reactors at 2 others

TVA urged to scrap nuke plant, mothball reactors at 2 others

By REBECCA FERRAR
News-Sentinel staff writer

TVA could save ratepayers $90 million yearly, or 2 percent on electric rates, by scrapping one nuclear plant and mothballing reactors at two others, a report by the Tennessee Valley Energy Coalition says.

Such action would allow TVA to reduce the growth of its $17 billion nuclear debt and to reassess the nuclear program, said Mark Siegel, TVEC director who compiled the report using TVA financial records.

TVEC is a Knoxville-based citizens' group representing TVA ratepayers.

Siegel says TVA should immediately scrap the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in northern Alabama and "defer" Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Chattanooga and the Unit 2 reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant at Spring City.

"Deferring" a plant means cutting expenses but maintaining the plant so it could be operated later.

Siegel's report finds merit in Sequoyah, saying the problems there could be solved. Both Browns Ferry and Sequoyah have been shut down by safety problems since 1985.

TVA now is trying to get one unit at Sequoyah back on line and has received the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's permission to do so. TVA has plans to restart one of three units at Browns Ferry by year's end.

Because of repair work under way at Sequoyah, Siegel said, restart of the plant now would be a "calculated risk at best."

"TVA needs an honest estimate of what really needs to be done at Sequoyah, how long it is really likely to take and what the costs are really likely to be," he said.

The report says TVA would save $76 million annually by canceling Browns Ferry and $128 million by deferring Sequoyah. Deferring Watts Bar Unit 2 would cost TVA $113 million a year, but Siegel recommended the action to bring the growth of TVA's nuclear debt under control.

Jim Durall, TVA's chief financial officer, issued a statement responding to the report but did not dispute its finding.

Durall said TVA, using consultants, is conducting its own study of power supply options that will consider TVEC's concerns.

That study also will consider trends in regional power demands. For example, Durall said, sales to TVA's 160 power distributors in the Tennessee Valley are up 19 percent during the past four years.

Meanwhile, Durall said, TVA has been buying large amounts of power from other utilities while it is available at favorable prices.

"The outlook for power needs and the options for meeting them are complex, but we do not believe TVA can simply dismiss nuclear power," Durall said.

Siegel's report concludes that TVA is forging ahead with the nuclear program because the agency has spent so much money that stopping is no longer an option.

The report also attacks Steven White, TVA's nuclear manager, whom the agency hired in 1986 on a $355,000 annual contract.

"Since White came to TVA, a trail of controversy and trouble has followed him," the report said.

Controversies have arisen over alleged conflict-of-interest violations with his contract and over whether he made intentional false statements to the NRC about the quality assurance program at the Watts Bar plant.

The report also concludes that under White's leadership, charges have continued concerning contractors' attempts to take over the nuclear program, the waste of millions of dollars and of harassment of employees who raise safety concerns.