Dec. 30--Progress Energy, which had expected to announce a site this month for a new nuclear plant, has narrowed its list to a half- dozen finalists, and plans to name the site in mid-January.

The Raleigh-based utility in the past four months has halved its original list of 13 potential sites in North Carolina and South Carolina. Company officials are now in the final stages of the site selection process, said Joe Donahue, Progress Energy's vice president for nuclear engineering and services.

The names and locations of the sites are a closely-guarded secret. Progress Energy, which has

1.4 million customers in the Carolinas, was considering three locations where it already operates nuclear plants, including the Shearon Harris plant in Wake County, as well as 10 undisclosed virgin sites, Donahue said.

The Triangle's only Fortune 500 corporation has been very tight- lipped about an impending announcement that's bound to spark fierce opposition from local residents, environmentalists and opponents of nuclear energy.

Local government and economic development officials generally embrace nuclear plants as founts of property tax revenue. But the county managers of Wake and Brunswick counties say Progress Energy has not kept county officials updated on the site selection process that will affect their constituents for decades to come.

Progress Energy's chief executive said in April that the Shearon Harris site would be the most logical choice for expansion. CEO Robert McGehee noted the Harris facility serves a rapidly growing area with high energy demand, and was designed to house four nuclear reactors. It now has one.

The delay in the company's site decision has been caused by a technical study to identify the best nuclear reactor designs for each site under review.

"You can't pick a site, then the technology," Donahue said Thursday. "You really need to pick both simultaneously."

Duke Power, the Charlotte-based utility that serves 2.1 million customers in the Carolinas, is on a parallel track and expects to announce a site in January to build a new reactor in its service area. The company is reviewing 14 potential sites. Duke serves 108,000 customers in Durham County, 45,000 in Orange and 2,000 in Wake.

Progress Energy and Duke Power have said they will need new sources of power generation within a decade to meet growing customer demand. Both are considering commissioning the nation's first nuclear reactors in two decades.

Each site selected would accommodate up to two nuclear reactors.

The utilities plan to file for federal licenses, but wouldn't commit to building the reactors for up to several years after applying for the licenses. Instead, the companies could decide to build coal-fired plants, or choose another option.

Progress Energy has said it will apply for licenses to build as many as a total of four nuclear reactors at two sites -- one in North or South Carolina and the other in Florida. The company is reviewing 19 potential locations in Florida and won't announce a site in the Sunshine State until March.

The site and reactor design review is now in the hands of a four- person technical team that's being aided by several engineering firms, Donahue said. The technical team will present its findings and recommendations to the company's baseload oversight committee, which in turn will make a recommendation to Progress Energy's senior management team.

Shortly before the company makes its selection public, it will notify elected officials in the affected counties and towns. As part of a detailed communication plan, the company will also notify officials in areas that had asked to be picked but lost out, Donahue said.

At this stage, the property record checks, geological testing and other aspects of site evaluation have not required public disclosure, said company spokesman Rick Kimble.

Officials in Cumberland County have been lobbying Progress Energy for the reactor, seeing it as an economic development boon. And last month Brunswick County passed a resolution expressing support for a new reactor. The county is home to Progress Energy's Brunswick nuclear plant, south of Wilmington.

The Shearon Harris plant is Wake County's biggest source of property tax revenue, paying nearly $10 million a year. In addition, the plant employs 450 people in jobs that pay an average annual salary of $80,000.

Selecting a site is based on a dozen general criteria and 40 engineering criteria, Donahue said. The criteria include adequate water supply to cool the reactor (30 million gallons needed daily), flooding and earthquake risk, and access to transmission lines and railroads or barges to bring in construction equipment and materials.

Local community support, or opposition, is also a consideration.