Washington (Platts)--6Mar2014/612 pm EST/2312 GMT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday that, as of December 31, 80 of 100 nuclear power reactors in the US met their safety and security performance objectives.

Those 80 received normal, or baseline, inspection results, NRC said in a statement regarding its annual assessment letters for nuclear plant licensees.

The letters "are an annual report card on the performance of the nation's nuclear power plants," Ho Nieh, director of NRC's division of inspection and regional support, said in the statement. "We ensure nuclear power plants are safe, inspecting them and rating their performance regularly, as part of our mission to protect people and the environment."

The 80 units are in Column 1 of the five-column action matrix of NRC's reactor oversight process, meaning they require the least amount of agency oversight. Plants in Column 4 receive the most NRC attention short of a mandated shutdown under the "unacceptable performance" criteria of Column 5.

Nine power reactors -- Browns Ferry-3, Clinton, Fitzpatrick, Grand Gulf-1, LaSalle-2, Point Beach-2, Prairie Island-2, Robinson and Turkey Point-3 -- were in Column 2, assessed as "needing to resolve one or two items of low safety significance," and will receive additional inspections and other regulatory oversight, the agency said. Robinson has resolved its issues since December 31 and returned to Column 1, NRC added.

Nine reactors were in Column 3, operating "at a degraded level of performance," the agency said. Those units were Browns Ferry-2, Duane Arnold, Monticello, Pilgrim, Point Beach-1, Sequoyah-1 and -2, Susquehanna-2, and Watts Bar-1. Issues at Sequoyah-1 and -2 and Watts Bar-1 are now resolved and those units are in Column 1, NRC said.

"For this category [Column 3], regulatory oversight includes more NRC inspections, senior management attention and oversight focused on the cause of the degraded performance," the agency said.

One reactor, Browns Ferry-1, was in Column 4, requiring "increased oversight due to a safety finding of high significance, which will include additional inspections to confirm the plant's performance issues are being addressed," NRC said.

The agency said one unit, Fort Calhoun, "is currently under a special NRC oversight program distinct from the normal performance levels because of an extended shutdown with significant performance issues. The oversight panel cleared the unit to restart in December, but the plant will remain under special oversight until the panel returns it to the regular program. Therefore, the plant will not receive an annual assessment letter."

Public meetings, "or other event[s]" will be held over the spring and summer near each nuclear power plant to discuss the assessments, NRC said.

--Steven Dolley, steven.dolley@platts.com --Edited by Derek Sands, derek.sands@platts.com

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