U.S. says Calif. utility's woes not to hurt nuke safety

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

U.S. says Calif. utility's woes not to hurt nuke safety

  

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. nuclear regulators said Friday the 

bankruptcy filing by California's largest utility, Pacific Gas & 

Electric, would only increase their attention to safety monitoring at 

the firm's two nuclear plants in the state. 



Pacific Gas & Electric operates two Diablo Canyon plants in Avila 

Beach, Calif. Each are rated at 1,100 megawatts. 



In a letter to California Gov. Gray Davis, the head of the U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission said safety remained the highest 

priority, and if need be, the agency would increase its oversight of 

the two plants "if circumstances warrant." 



"Our inspectors are particularly sensitive to signs of curtailment of 

required activities that may impinge on safety," said NRC Chairman 

Richard Meserve in his letter to Davis. 



Meserve also told Davis that NRC inspectors have not found any 

decrease in safety at the plants. 



"Our ongoing regulatory oversight and our inspections to date 

confirm that the present financial situation has had no impact on 

PG&E's ability to operate its units safely and in accordance with 

our requirements," Meserve wrote to Davis. 



The utility, which is a unit of PG&E Corp filed Chapter 11 

bankruptcy on Friday, blaming the move on the failure of the 

political process to fix the California power crisis. 



Meserve said the utility has assured the NRC it has sufficient funds 

to pay for nuclear plant safety needs. 



In bankruptcy, the NRC said, it would seek to ensure that money 

be protected for such safety requirements. 



Also to be protected in court proceedings would be the 

decommissioning funds set aside by the utility for the time when it 

decides to shut its nuclear units, the agency said. 



**************************************************************************

Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	

Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.			E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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