NRC moves ConEd N.Y. nuke meeting to appease Congress

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

NRC moves ConEd N.Y. nuke meeting to appease Congress
  
NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) said Tuesday it rescheduled a meeting on the restarting the 
Indian Point 2 nuclear reactor in New York, idled by a radiation leak 
in February, to appease members of Congress. 

"We moved the meeting to better coordinate with the schedules of 
several members of Congress. There's been a lot of interest in this 
meeting," NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci told Reuters. 

The NRC, in a statement issued late Monday, said the meeting had been 
changed to noon EDT, June 25 from June 19, and would be held in 
Cortlandt, N.Y. instead of at the plant. 

"No decision (concerning the plant restart) will be made at this 
meeting," the NRC said. 

Indian Point shut on Feb. 15 after a tube crack in one of its four 
steam generators leaked radioactive water into the environment. 

New York City-based Consolidated Edison Inc. <ED.N> owns the 931-
megawatt plant, located along the shores of the Hudson River in 
Buchanan, N.Y. about 35 miles north of New York City. 

The subject of Sunday's meeting will be to discuss several issues 
associated with Indian Point 2, including Con Ed's plan to return the 
plant to service for the summer and to keep the public informed of 
developments involving the facility. 

Without Indian Point 2 operating, New York faces possible power 
shortages and blackouts this summer as businesses and households turn 
on air conditioners to seek relief from the season's heat and 
humidity. 

In a plan filed with the NRC on June 2, Con Ed said if the company 
was allowed to repair the damaged steam generator and restart the 
reactor for the summer, it would shut the plant, probably in the 
autumn when electricity loads are the lowest, and replace the old 
steam generators by the end of the year. 

The NRC must approve of Con Ed's plan before the plant is allowed to 
restart. The federal agency has said it expects to take about three 
weeks to evaluate the plan and make a decision allowing or denying 
restart on about June 30. 

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