Watts Bar Nuclear PlantAfter being fined $70,000 last year for failing to verify equipment reliability, the Tennessee Valley Authority is now meeting all regulatory standards for construction of its newest nuclear reactor, regulators said in a letter released today.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said TVA corrected the three violations identified last spring that resulted in a civil penalty against TVA for not ensuring that equipment being installed at Watts Bar Unit 2 met nuclear standards. TVA expects to complete the second reactor at Watts Bar for power generation by late 2015.
“Overall, the corrective action program implementation activities, including initiation, classification, disposition and trending were deemed satisfactory,” NRC Director of Construction Projects Joel Munday said in a letter to TVA released today.
Last year, TVA had to reinspect and verify the reliability of equipment that was put in the Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar in the past without proper certification for a nuclear plant. Ultimately, the equipment was deemed adequate, although TVA was fined for not following proper NRC standards for previously verifying the plant materials met NRC standards.
The NRC has scheduled meetings at 4 p.m. and again at 5:30 p.m. on April 8 to discuss TVA’s $4 billion construction program at the Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar near Spring City. At the meetings, NRC and TVA officials will discuss the ongoing work at TVA’S newest reactor, including major milestones and potential challenges that may impact the construction schedule in the next year and a a half before the scheduled start of power generation.