Finger Pointing - NU Report

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

More finger pointing. Granted, NU Management had overall 
accountability for managing the plant. But what about the NRC, the 
State of Connecticut (Dept. of Public utility Control) etc. There 
will be no solutions until they all band togther and act as one. 
Another example of regulations and safety, and how they do not 
necessarily work hand in hand. Regulations in this context are 
related to the "written word" as well as those assigned the 
responsibility for executing the review process.

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  HARTFORD, Conn. (Reuter) - An audit report issued Tuesday by  
Connecticut's Department of Public Utility Control said 
Northeast Utilities and its subsidiary mismanaged the state's 
four nuclear power plants over the last decade. 
  ``As NU has consistently misunderstood the nature of its  
problems over the past decade, it has consistently applied the 
wrong solutions,'' the report said.'' 
  Northeast Utilities and its subsidiary Connecticut Light and  
Power Co. co-own and operate the 582 megawatt Connecticut Yankee
generating station in Haddam Neck, Conn., and three units, with
combined capacity of nearly 2,700 megawatts, at the Millstone complex
in Waterford, Conn. 
  The report drew a sharp reaction from Connecticut Attorney  
General Richard Blumenthal. 
  ``This scathing audit of the management of Connecticut's  
four nuclear plants is further evidence that the troubles with 
Connecticut's nuclear plants are the result of massive 
mismanagement at Northeast Utilities,'' he said in a statement. 
  ``The costs associated with this nuclear mismanagement will  
be the responsibility of Northeast Utilities and not the 
citizens and businesses of Connecticut.'' 
  The latest criticism of Northeast Utilities and its  
subsidiary followed a department report earlier this month 
listing deficiencies and suggested technical improvements at 
each plant. 
  ``It (the first report) was more technical, and this is more  
historical with the management and the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission),'' said department spokeswoman Beryl Lyons. 
  The report also concluded that Northeast Utilities's  
relationship with federal regulators deteriorated due to the 
adversarial style of its nuclear management. 
  ``NU has lost its credibility with its primary regulator due  
to a hostile and arrogant approach to the regulatory process and its
failure to keep significant commitments,'' said the report, prepared
by R.C. Brown & Associates Inc. 
  The board of directors of Connecticut Yankee voted on Dec. 4  
to mothball the plant after economic analysis showed it would be
uneconomical to restart it. Connecticut Yankee was shut July 22 for
repairs and refueling. 
  All three Millstone nuclear reactors have been shut since  
late March for safety reasons. 
  Northeast Utilities recently said it hoped to bring the 660  
megawatt Millstone unit 1 back to service in the third-quarter 
of 1997, and the two remaining units in the fourth-quarter of 
1997 and first quarter of 1998, pending regulatory approval. 
  ``Based on our initial review, while we don't agree with all  
of the auditor's conclusions, some are, as expected, similar to 
those we had reached through our own self-assessments and 
assessments commissioned by the NU Board of Trustees,'' 
Northeast Utilities said in a statement. 
  Because the audit covered a period through mid-September  
1996, it did not include changes made under the tenure of Bruce 
Kenyon, newly appointed head of NU Nuclear, it said. 
  Those changes included the arrival of external recovery  
officers and recovery teams to oversee the recovery of the 
Millstone units and hiring of retired Admiral David Goebel to 
head up oversight efforts. 
  Northeast Utilities stock rose 12.5 cents to $13.25 in  
afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Sandy Perle
Director, Technical Operations
ICN Dosimetry Division
Office: (800) 548-5100 Ext. 2306 
Fax: (714) 668-3149

E-Mail: sandyfl@ix.netcom.com    

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