Platts - Thursday, June 22, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Georgia Power can track, ask for nuke costs to be in rates: PSC Philadelphia (Platts)--22Jun2006 Georgia's Public Service Commission ruled Thursday that Georgia Power may track the costs it incurs in planning and licensing possible new nuclear reactors at its Vogtle nuclear station and apply at a future date to recover those costs through its base rates, a PSC spokesman said. The spokesman added, however, that the PSC did not directly authorize Georgia Power to incur those costs, which the utility has estimated may total $50 million or more. Instead, the commission said that the reasonableness of the utility's expenditures will be considered in a future rate-hike application Georgia Power makes to recover those costs. Georgia Power has said that it is studying the possibility of building one or more nuclear units at Vogtle, but like other utilities undertaking studies of their own, it has not committed to actually building the plants. Georgia Power in February asked the PSC to rule on whether the utility could recover its nuclear development and licensing costs even if the new plants are never built. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Turkey to build three nuclear power plants by 2015 London (Platts)--22Jun2006 Turkey wants to build three nuclear power plants by 2015, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an energy meeting in Ankara June 20, according to news reports. "As a country whose energy consumption is increasing rapidly, we want to benefit from nuclear energy as soon as possible," he was quoted by Associated Press as saying. Turkey is dependent on energy imports, mainly of natural gas from Russia and Iran. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei will visit Turkey July 6-9. This marks the third time Turkey has announced plans for a nuclear power program. Both previous attempts were abandoned after western vendors had spent considerable resources bidding for the anticipated contracts. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ or subscribe now at http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=67 http://nucweek.platts.com ------------ Barton asks Bodman to sack embattled nuclear security chief Washington (Platts)--21Jun2006 Representative Joe Barton on Wednesday ramped up his demand that Linton Brooks, chief of the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, resign or be fired. Barton, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commence Committee, asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to demand Brooks' immediate resignation. Barton also gave Bodman the option of asking President Bush to fire Brooks. "I urge that you ask for [Brooks'] resignation forthwith or request his removal from office by the President," Barton said in a letter to Bodman Wednesday. "His conduct has substantially undermined both your constitutional obligations and those of the US Congress, and the American people expect their public servants to be held fully accountable for their actions," he wrote. Representative Ed Whitfield, Republican-Kentucky, also signed the letter to Bodman. Whitfield chairs the Energy panel's subcommittee on oversight and investigations. Barton and Whitfield first called for Brooks' removal on June 9, when Brooks revealed at an energy panel subcommittee hearing that a computer hacker stole the Social Security numbers, security clearances and other information of 1,500 NNSA employees. Brooks said the security breach occurred more than eight months ago, and that he learned about it shortly after it was discovered. Brooks, though, said he didn't tell Bodman about the incident until just before the June 9 hearing. Barton, Whitfield and other lawmakers, likewise, were not told about the eight-month-old security breach until only shortly before hearing. Barton and Whitfield, in their letter to Bodman, said Brooks' failure to immediately inform top DOE officials and Congress of the breech constitutes a "dereliction of duty." "It strikes us as likely that...Brooks' decision not to inform you fully of the situation was, at least in part, his maneuvering to allow NNSA staff to deliberately conceal this information from the [energy] committee," Barton and Whitfield said. DOE did not immediately return messages asking if Bodman would urge Brooks to step down. NNSA, likewise, did not respond to messages inquiring about Brooks' plans. --Brian Hansen, brian_hansen@platts.com For similar news, take a trial to Platts Inside Energy at http://insideenergy.platts.com. ------------ NRG Energy may build two ABWRs at STP Washington (Platts)--21Jun2006 NRG Energy said June 21 it is interested in building two ABWRs at the South Texas Project site. The company sent a letter to NRC on June 19 saying it plans to submit a combined construction permit-operating license application in late 2007. NRG has a 44% interest in the STP but is in talks with co-owners CPS Energy (40% interest) and Austin Energy (16% interest) about whether they will participate in the project. NRG officials told financial analysts during a June 21 teleconference call that they are not concerned about finding equity partners because other people have already approached them and expressed interest. Company officials said that new baseload generation would be needed by around 2014-15. They expect each of the new units to add 1,358 MW (gross) to the site's output. The two operating STP units are 1,315 MW (gross) Westinghouse PWRs. ------------ EIA reports global nuclear generating capacity expected to rise Washington (Platts)--20Jun2006 Global nuclear energy generating capacity is projected to rise from 361 gigawatts in 2003 to 438 GW in 2030, DOE's Energy Information Administration reported June 20. The report, which looks at the global energy demand through 2030, said that higher fossil fuel prices and concerns about the security of energy supplies were expected to improve the prospects for nuclear energy. By 2030, nuclear capacity is expected to increase by 3 GW in the US "as a result of uprates at existing plants and by 6 GW as a result of new construction," the EIA said. Despite the projected rise in the consumption of nuclear-generated electricity, EIA also noted that significant declines in nuclear capacity were expected in Europe, "where several countries have either plans or mandates to phase out nuclear power, or where old reactors are expected to be retired and not replaced." The report is on EIA's web site (www.eia.doe.gov). ------------