Platts - Thursday, November 17, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ French anti-nuclear groups call for protests against EDF sale Paris (Platts)--17Nov2005 French anti-nuclear campaigners Thursday called for protests against the part privatiation of Electricite de France (EDF), claiming that millions of people had been duped into subscribing for shares "without knowing the real risks." "The mobilization of citizens should be of a level to stop this historic hold-up," said France's "Out of nuclear" network, a gathering of the country's anti-nuclear groups. "Millions of people have been duped, led on by a powerful advertizing campaign, and have brought EDF shares without knowing the real risks," the network claimed. A record 4-mil individuals have subscribed for shares in the company, according to French press reports. EDF was unable Thursday to comment on the number of subscribers but French finance minister Thierry Breton said Nov 10 that already, over a week before the end of the subscription period, more than 3-mil members of the public had reserved shares. In view of the high public demand, Breton said he might make more shares available to them. "We could go above the 50% (of the sale) that was initially planned. "According to the anti-nuclear group, institutional investors had not "hurried" to buy shares in EDF, however. The institutional investors, the group said, were "better informed than the public" on the various elements which "cast doubt on the glowing future for EDF on the stock exchange."The group pointed to a Jan 2005 report by France's national audit office, Cour des comptes, which it said showed that the cost of dismantling French nuclear plants and the management of nuclear waste "was not assured." EDF's nuclear power plants lost Eur99-mil in 2004 and they would continue to lose money, the group also claimed. "It is the transport and distribution of electricity that is profitable": Eur1-bil in 2004. But in the short term, EDF will lose these activities to other structures, notably RTE for transport." according to the campaigners, EDF's plants were ageing "badly" and costly maintenance work would be necessary "much earlier than planned," but EDF was not informing future shareholders. The anti-nuclear campaigners argue that EDF's nuclear power plants and the new pilot EPR reactor could not withstand the impact of a "suicide crash" and that the flooding of the Blayais nuclear power plant in 1999 and the heatwave of 2003, which halted several reactors and led to "massive" power imports, are proof of weaknesses in the face of worsening climate change. "We can already imagine the breathtaking fall in EDF shares when the truth comes out," the group said. Trading of EDF shares should begin on the Paris stock exchange on Monday Nov 21, following the closure of a two week subscription period at midnight Thursday, the company said Thursday. Launching the sale of about 15% of EDF Oct 28, Breton said 50% of the offer would be reserved for the general public (35% for the public and 15% for EDF staff and pensioners) and 50% for institutional investors. The share price for the public is between Eur28.50 and Eur33.10 a share, one euro less than the range for institutions. EDF staff and pensioners are being offered a discounted price of between Eur22.80 and Eur26.48 before tax. France's finance ministry is to announce the final price of the shares on Friday Nov 18. Breton has said the sale, the biggest of its kind in the world for four years, should raise a "maximum" Eur7-bil for EDF and Eur1-bil for the state. The state will hold onto 85% of EDF after the sale. Under current French law, the government can privatize up to 30% of the company. Anti-privatization unions, which began a campaign against the sale Nov 8, have called on power and gas workers to join demonstrations Nov 19 in "defense of the public service." The CGT energy union is also gathering signatures for a 500,00 signature petition calling for EDF to remain 100% in public hands. It plans to present the petition to French prime minister Dominique de Villepin Nov 19. For more information, take a trial to Platts Electricity Alert at http://electricityalert.platts.com. ------------ NRC, Georgia company settle discrimination complaint Washington (Platts)--16Nov2005 NRC said it has settled a discrimination complaint with Williams Industrial Services Group LLC of Stone Mountain, Ga. Williams has agreed to implement industry-standard programs to promote a safety conscious work environment as part of the settlement, the agency said. NRC said the settlement stems from a 2000 incident involving three painters employed by Williams at FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co.'s Perry plant. Two of the painters were laid off and a third was forced to resign after they expressed safety concerns to FirstEnergy officials about directions they received from their supervisor for painting in the plant's fuel handling building, NRC said. Under the settlement, NRC agreed to withdraw its deliberate misconduct citation against Williams, issued Feb. 24. ------------ Industry planning ahead to meet needs for new plant construction Washington (Platts)--16Nov2005 The industry is taking action now to ensure critical elements will be in place to support the safe and reliable continued operation of existing nuclear power plants while meeting the needs to construct and operate new reactors, said the Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI) Thomas Houghton. The critical infrastructure is three-pronged, said Houghton, a project manager in NEI's risk regulation division. Speaking at the American Nuclear Society's winter meeting in Washington, DC, Houghton said there were financial, physical, and workforce considerations. He described the financial requirements as "investment stimulus" or "protection" against delays over which the project developer has little control. The new energy policy act has provisions to aid with the financing of new plants and offers insurance protection against unanticipated delays, he said. The law provides up to $500-million for each of the first two new plant projects that encounter delays due to litigation or licensing issues, and up to $250-million for the next four projects for 50% of the delay costs following a six-month period. The law provides for debt service or purchased power costs, Houghton said. The workforce challenges are impacting the industry and government agencies. Houghton said a new plant construction project could attract around 2,400 workers. He said that approximately 14,000 workers would be needed if there were seven plants in construction at the same time. To operate the plant, between 400 and 700 skilled employees would be needed, he said. An NEI workforce issues task force is addressing the labor issues, he said. Another industry task force was established in early August to tackle issues dealing with physical infrastructure, meaning the key components and commodities, Houghton said in his Nov 15 talk. The task force, comprising vendors, architect engineers, utilities, and representatives from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, and Electric Power Research Institute, will assess the infrastructure gaps in a study to be conducted next year. The study will look at vendor construction schedules and estimate demand for long-lead components. It will focus on the fabrication capabilities, and whether there would be qualified suppliers for equipment and materials, he said. In his presentation, Houghton showed estimates of the lead times needed to fabricate more than a half-dozen large components, including about 50 months for reactor vessels and steam generators, roughly 40 months for reactor vessel internals, pressurizers, and turbine generators, and approximately 30 months for accumulators and heavy component supports. Houghton said the "good news" for the industry is that there is time to prepare for new construction. But he said that orders for long-lead components will need to be made in 2008 if construction is anticipated to begin in 2010. He said if there is a boom in nuclear construction, it could "rejuvenate" the US heavy manufacturing sector. He also said that the demand could be met if existing facilities are retooled with "state-of-the-art" manufacturing technologies and if the industry looks worldwide to fulfill orders, not just within the US. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ Bids on turbine-generators for Chinese reactors now due Dec. 1 Paris (Platts)--15Nov2005 Bids are due Dec. 1 for turbine-generators for China's next reactors, according to senior officials of French manufacturer Alstom. Philippe Joubert, president of Alstom Power, and Philippe Anglaret, vice president-nuclear of Alstom Power Turbo-Systems, said in an interview that the Chinese customer had postponed the latest bid deadline, which had been today, so that turbine suppliers could adapt their bids to modifications in nuclear steam supply systems proposed by Areva, Westinghouse and Atomstroyexport. A decision on a supplier for the nuclear part of the four Generation III nuclear plants (two units at Sanmen and two at Yangjiang), which has also been postponed, is officially scheduled for late November, but the date could slip further, they said. Alstom will propose its 1,800-MW Arabelle turbine and generator in partnership with Dong Fang Electric Co. Anglaret said Alstom will bid on turbine-generator packages to interface with all three possible nuclear islands. ------------ Senate funds FY-06 energy programs Washington (Platts)--14Nov2005 The Senate set fiscal 2006 appropriations for energy projects today when senators adopted the funding bill's House-passed conference report in an 84-4 vote. The $30.5-billion bill gives DOE at $24.2-billion in FY-06, which began Oct. 1. The department's nuclear energy programs will receive $557.57-million, while spending on the DOE repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nev. drops to $450-million. The bill now moves to the White House for the president's signature. ------------