rnet@hps1.org

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Brunswick Plant Ranks as Top Boiling-water Reactor in the U.S.

SOUTHPORT, N.C., May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Carolina Power and Light's 
(NYSE: CPL) Brunswick Nuclear Plant ranked No. 1 in production and 
cost in 1999 for Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) in the United States, 
according to industry data. 

Performance and cost rankings are based on three-year average data 
from the Electric Utilities Cost Group.  In the area of performance, 
the Brunswick Plant had a 93.9 percent capacity factor.  The nuclear 
industry average in 1999 was 80.5 percent.  Capacity factor is a 
measurement of the plant's generation output as compared to its rated 
capability. 

The cost data from the Electric Utilities Cost group also show that 
Brunswick ranked at the top of the BWR list. 

"It is clearly the dedication and teamwork of the Brunswick employees 
that enabled us to achieve these high levels of performance while 
safely and economically producing electricity for our customers," 
said Jack Keenan, Brunswick Plant vice president. 

"Our focus on continuous improvement in the areas of human 
performance and equipment reliability is directly improving our 
overall performance," Keenan said. 

To reduce the potential for human errors, the Brunswick Team 
developed a comprehensive Human Performance program that provides 
ongoing training to employees on error-likely situations and how to 
prevent them.  In addition, the site adopted a "Zero Tolerance to 
Equipment Failure" initiative, which provides a plan for identifying 
possible equipment issues and fixing them before problems occur. 

"Both of these programs focus on proactive performance, which is 
essential for Brunswick to continue to reach higher levels of 
performance," Keenan said. "We are committed to the safe production 
of electricity, giving our customers reliable and cost-efficient 
energy." 

The Brunswick Plant also marked another performance milestone in 
March by completing a refueling outage in less than 30 days.  
Brunswick successfully completed a 27-day refueling outage on Unit 1 
March 24, beating the unit's previous best of 33 days. 

"Conducting a safe, efficient refueling outage is critical to our 
overall performance.  The refueling outage sets the stage for the 
unit's performance for the next two years," Keenan said.  The dual-
unit Brunswick Plant refuels each unit every 24 months. 

CP&L's four nuclear reactors at three locations produced 46 percent 
of the company's electricity in 1999.  CP&L provides electricity and 
energy services to nearly 1.2 million customers in the Carolinas and 
natural gas, through its wholly owned NCNG subsidiary, to 178,000 
customers in North Carolina. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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