More work needed, but Palo Verde nuke can turn things around: NRC

Washington (Platts)--4Apr2007

Improvements are being made at the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in
Arizona, but there still are instances where crews address symptoms, not the
root cause, of problems and where incomplete answers are accepted, US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission Region IV Administrator Bruce Mallett said Wednesday.

But Mallett told members of the Arizona Corporation Commission that he
believed the Arizona Public Service plant would be able to turnaround its
performance.

Arizona regulators called the meeting to hear NRC's perspective on
problems that earlier in 2007 saw Palo Verde-3 slip a notch in NRC's
performance assessment, subjecting the station to a higher level of NRC
oversight.

Responding to a question from the ACC, Mallett said that neither NRC nor
APS would allow the situation at Palo Verde to deteriorate to the point where
the three-reactor station was moved into NRC's lowest ranking -- unacceptable
performance -- which could require a shutdown until issues are addressed.
There is a wide margin between where Palo Verde is now and column 5, he said.

The plant, roughly 50 miles outside Phoenix, now has three NRC resident
inspectors. Mallett said he anticipates a fourth inspector will be assigned to
the station for at least a year.

--Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com