NRC Approves Increased Power Output For Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC, (NMPNS) to increase the generating capacity of Unit 2 at the Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant.

The power uprate for Nine Mile Point Unit 2, located in Scriba, N.Y. (6 miles northeast of Oswego), authorizes an increase for 15 percent (approximately 521 megawatts thermal) and equates to an expected increase in electrical output of about 158 megawatts electric. NMPNS is implementing the uprate for Unit 2 during its upcoming refueling outage.

The NRC staff determined that NMPNS could safely increase the reactor's output primarily by carrying out significant upgrades to several plant systems and components, including the feedwater pumps as well as the high-pressure turbine. NRC staff also reviewed the licensee's evaluations showing the plant's design can safely handle the increased power level.

The NRC's safety evaluation of the plant's proposed power uprate focused on several areas, such as the nuclear steam supply systems, instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, accident evaluations, radiological consequences, operations and training, testing, and technical specification changes. For added confidence in the analysis, the NRC staff also performed audits of analyses supporting the power uprate, including independent calculations and evaluations of selected areas.

The NRC previously published a notice about the power uprate application in the Federal Register, providing the public an opportunity to comment or request a hearing. The agency's evaluation of the Nine Mile Point Unit 2 power uprate will be available through the NRC's ADAMS electronic document database by entering ML113300040 under the "Simple Search" tab. More information on uprates is available on the NRC website.

SOURCE: Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC