Platts - Thursday, October 27, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ Duke plans to seek NRC approval for two new reactors Washington (Platts)--26Oct2005 Duke plans to file a license application for two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors within the next 24-30 months. The company also announced today that it had not yet selected a site but was reviewing 14 potential locations within its North and South Carolina service territory, including an examination of its Catawba, McGuire, and Oconee sites. A final site decision is expected by the year's end, the company said. Duke said it needs new baseload generation in place by 2015 and it also is considering new coal and combined-cycle plants to meet customer demand. Duke said it would not seek funding from DOE to help cover the costs of a combined construction permit-operating license application. ------------ Monitors fear UN pressure on Iran may provoke Iraq-Iran smuggling Vienna (Platts)--26Oct2005 If the United Nations Security Council pressures Iran on nuclear safeguards violations, Iran may respond by engaging in uncontrolled trade in weapons-related goods along its border with Iraq, some experts involved in UN arms control verification efforts said. On Sep 24, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution that said Iran's track record of safeguards violations for nearly two decades represented non-compliance with its IAEA safeguards agreement. The IAEA board in late November may refer the matter to the UN in New York, unless Iran ceases operation of its uranium conversion plant in Isfahan to produce UF4 and UF6, and takes other steps to demonstrate greater cooperation with the IAEA Department of Safeguards. The UN Security Council could place sanctions on Iran. Diplomatic sources said last week that the board next month may postpone a referral to the UN into 2006, but that the US and other firm critics of Iran's nuclear program would continue to raise the matter before IAEA governors. Should the IAEA refer Iran to the Security Council, Iran has vowed it will resume its uranium enrichment program and limit cooperation with the IAEA to the letter of its bilateral safeguards agreement. In addition, some UN verification sources in Vienna warned last month, referral might also incite Iran to open clandestine commerce in weapons-related goods with terrorists and armed insurgents in Iraq. Thus far, Western government officials said, the US, Israel, and the UK have attempted to monitor the flow of traffic from certain strategic points between Iran and Iraq. Independently, the IAEA Department of Safeguards and the UN Monitoring, Verification & Inspection Commission (Unmovic) have used commercial satellite imagery to try to detect any significant changes or developments. Unmovic is responsible for keeping track of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) infrastructure under Security Council Resolution 1051 from 1996. Since the end of the 2003 Iraq war, the US has been working with newly-formed Iraqi government agencies to set up export control measures and install monitoring equipment at points along Iraq's borders with its neighbors. Some related discussions were held in Vienna last month, during the 2005 IAEA General Conference, between Iraq's delegation and US equipment vendors and government officials. But one official in Vienna pointed out that the Iran-Iraq border is nearly 1,000 kilometers (about 650 miles) long. On the basis of US, IAEA, and Unmovic experience in the region, he said, "it would be virtually impossible to halt the smuggling" if Iran and insurgent groups were to engage in trade in arms, radioactive source materials, or goods and equipment related to nuclear and/or other WMDs. The insurgent groups include those with connections to the Al Qaida terrorist network, those led by Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq, or others operating in mountainous terrain in the northern border regions. Officials suggested that they have little confidence that current Iraq-Iran border commerce does not already include items relevant to WMD programs. Iraqi insurgency has continued unabated since 2003 and the Iraqi government has not replied to requests from Unmovic to resume reporting of WMD verification-related information to that agency. Reporting activity was broken off on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq three years ago. Unmovic's most recent request to the Iraqi government to resume reporting was submitted last month; Iraq has not responded to it. Until just before the war, Unmovic had a staff of about 100 technical experts involved in monitoring WMD-related sites in Iraq, plus about another 100 support staffers. Currently, Unmovic has no personnel in Iraq. Commercial satellite data obtained by Unmovic for monitoring strategic sites in Iraq is not available on a real-time basis. "So we can't be sure that it reflects what's really on the ground by the time we see it," one official said. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nuclear Fuel at http://nuclearfuel.platts.com. ------------ Third-quarter capacity factor boosts FirstEnergy's earnings Washington (Platts)--25Oct2005 A third-quarter capacity factor of 99.6% for FirstEnergy Corp.'s nuclear plants helped boost the company's earnings, Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Richard Marsh said today. During a conference call with financial analysts, Marsh said FirstEnergy's total generation for the quarter was a record 21.7-million megawatt-hours. The company reported net income, including unusual items, of $332.4-million, or $1.01 per share; income was $298.6-million, or 91 cents/share, for the same period last year. ------------ TMI-1 breaks its own world record with 689 day run Washington (Platts)--24Oct2005 Three Mile Island-1 broke its own world record for longest PWR run when it shut down today for a scheduled refueling outage, Exelon Nuclear said in a press release. The unit operated for 689 continuous days, breaking the record of 680 days it set when it last shut for refueling in 2003. TMI-1 has now completed four operating cycles with runs of more than 600 continuous days, the company said. ------------ Hurricane Wilma causes only minor plant damage, FP&L says Philadelphia (Platts)--24Oct2005 Hurricane Wilma appeared to cause only minimal damage to Florida Power & Light's four nuclear units, the utility said early Monday afternoon. FP&L shut down the two 850-MW nuclear units at its St. Lucie station near Fort Pierce and one of the two 700-MW nuclear units at its Turkey Point station south of Miami in advance of the storm, a spokesman said. The other Turkey Point unit already had been off line for a scheduled refueling. "There doesn't appear to be any significant damage" to any of FP&L's nuclear or other units, the spokesman said. He added, however, that more detailed inspections of the units will be taking place Monday afternoon and Tuesday. He declined to estimate when the nuclear units will be returned to service. Progress Energy Florida's nuclear and other units did not suffer any damage, a spokeswoman for the utility said. FP&L's service territory took the brunt of the storm, while the storm only brushed the Progress area. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ US FERC OKs sale of 70% stake in Iowa nuke to FPL Energy unit Washington (Platts)--24Oct2005 The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the sale of Interstate Power & Light's 70% stake in the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa to an FPL Energy subsidiary. In a late Friday order, the agency found that the proposed transaction was "consistent" with the public interest. FERC approval is only one of a number needed from state and federal regulators before the sale can be completed. The Iowa Utilities Board is scheduled to begin a hearing into the proposal next week. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------