NRC Restores 47 Months to ComEd's Dresden Unit 2 License

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

NRC Restores 47 Months to ComEd's Dresden Unit 2 License

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- A request by ComEd to 
extend the operating license of its Dresden Unit 2 reactor for 47 
months to recapture the construction period was approved by the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week. 

An amendment issued by the NRC on August 24 extends the unit's 
operating license expiration from January 10, 2006, to December 22, 
2009.  The agency issued the amendment following a review, which 
concluded that Dresden Unit 2 could be operated safely through the 
construction recapture period.  The original 40-year license 
expiration period for Dresden Unit 2 began on Jan. 10, 1966, 
coincident with the issuance of the plant's construction permit, 
which was standard practice at the time.  As such, after completion 
of construction, the original license for Dresden Unit 2 provided an 
operational life of 36 years and one month, rather than the full 40 
years.  The NRC currently issues operating licenses for 40 years from 
the time a plant begins operation.  In April 1999, ComEd applied to 
extend the operating license to the full 40 years from the time 
operation began.  The NRC has granted this construction period 
recapture for a number of utilities. 

"This is the right thing for us to do at Dresden and it will allow us 
to recognize the full value of the station," said NGG President and 
Chief Nuclear Officer, Oliver D. Kingsley, Jr. 

Dresden's Unit 3 operating license, which expires in January 2011, 
was changed in 1990 to reflect a full 40 years of operation. 

Dresden Station is located approximately 60 miles southwest of 
Chicago in Grundy County, Ill.  Dresden Unit 1, which is the nation's 
first privately-funded commercial nuclear power plant, was retired in 
1978. 

Incorporated in 1994 and based in Chicago, Unicom Corporation (NYSE: 
UCM) is a public company dedicated to meeting the energy needs of 
residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers.  Unicom 
Corporation is the parent holding company to Commonwealth Edison 
Company (ComEd), its principal subsidiary, and Unicom Enterprises, 
Inc. (UEI), offering competitive energy-related products and 
services. 

Engaged principally in the production, purchase, transmission, 
distribution and sale of electricity to retail and wholesale 
customers, ComEd provides service to more than 3.4 million customers 
across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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