Platts - Thursday, June 05, 2003 http://www.platts.com ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--4Jun2003 Russia to suspend fuel shipments to Iran Russia will suspend shipment of fresh fuel to Iran's Bushehr reactor until Iran accepts the IAEA's Additional Protocol, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control & International Security John Bolton said Wednesday. Testifying at a hearing of the House International Relations Committee, Bolton cited and confirmed a statement earlier in the day by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. After the hearing, Bolton said the Russian commitment would not affect that country's work on the construction of the reactor, which is ongoing. Russia is to supply fresh fuel and take back spent fuel from Bushehr, in part to ease international concerns about Iran's nuclear program. Under the Additional Protocol, the IAEA would have expanded inspection authority in Iran. This story was first published in Platts daily nuclear news digest Nuclear News Flashes. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--4Jun2003 FEMA reviewing emergency plans around Indian Point Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are reviewing whether there is "reasonable assurance" that emergency plans of local governments within the emergency planning zone of Indian Point would protect the public in the event of a severe accident at the plant. A spokesman for the FEMA said yesterday that a decision will be "forthcoming" but did not have a specific date for an announcement. Spokesman Don Jacks said the agency was examining information it had received from the surrounding counties. He said the New York governor and NRC would be alerted to the decision before it was made public. In February, the FEMA Region II office said it couldn't provide its assurance unless it got updated plans from the counties and state. The decision is now in the hands of FEMA officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--03June2003 NRC okays transfer of Diablo Canyon's licenses The NRC staff has approved the transfer of Diablo Canyon's operating licenses to two subsidiaries of PG&E Corp., parent of current licensee Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E). The license transfers are contingent on PG&E receiving approval from state regulators and from the judge handling its bankruptcy case. Under the transfer, Diablo Canyon LLC will become the owner of the two- reactor generating station, while Electric Generation LLC will operate and maintain the station under a lease that will make it responsible for all Diablo Canyon operating costs. NRC said today that Diablo Canyon LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electric Generation LLC, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of PG&E Corp. PG&E filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after its state- set electric rates failed to recover millions of dollars it paid for electricity purchased on California's open market for its customers. The license transfers are a key step in the utility's financial reorganization. ------------ London (Nuclear News Flashes)--03June2003 BE says it will take longer to sell AmerGen stake British Energy (BE) will not reach a sale agreement on its 50% share in AmerGen by June 30, U.K. Trade & Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt told Parliament in a statement today. British Energy (BE), which has been teetering on the brink of insolvency, was required under its remaining 16-month restructuring arrangement with the U.K. government to reach a sale agreement by that date. Hewitt said today, however, that the government would continue to support BE's restructuring despite the missed date in view of the progress BE had made in attempting to sell its share. Hewitt said BE's discussions "with a number of interested parties" are ongoing and the company had reaffirmed to her its intention to dispose of its AmerGen interest "as soon as practicable." Industry sources have long argued the impossibility of achieving a fair market price for the asset under such an engineered fire sale. ------------