Nebraska's Fort Calhoun reactor restart delayed - utility

HOUSTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Omaha Public Power District
has delayed its plan to
restart the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska until later
this year or early next and hired a unit of Exelon Corp
to manage the 478-megawatt reactor, which has been shut for 16
months.
OPPD plans to heat up the plant by Dec. 1, in anticipation
of restarting the reactor at a later date after a number of
inspections and other work, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
An exact restart date remains subject to Nuclear Regulatory
Commission approval.
Late last week, OPPD announced an agreement with Exelon
Nuclear Partners to manage day-to-day operation of Fort Calhoun
for the remainder of its operating license.
The agreement is the first such management contract for
Exelon Nuclear Partners at a plant not partly owned by Exelon, a
spokesman said.
In 2005, Exelon Nuclear Partners began working at Public
Service Enterprise Group's Salem and Hope Creek nuclear
facilities.
In the two years it managed that site, Exelon's team was
able to reduce refueling time by more than a third and boost the
station's capacity factor, Exelon said on its web site.
Exelon Nuclear Partners has been assisting the Fort Calhoun
recovery effort since January, OPPD said. Exelon's Mike Prospero
was named plant manager in February, three months after the NRC
put the plant in a special inspection category after discovering
several significant safety issues.

"While we have made significant progress in our recovery
efforts, this operating agreement will help take Fort Calhoun
Station to the next level," said W. Gary Gates, OPPD president,
in a statement.
OPPD remains the owner and licensed operator of the plant.
About 10 Exelon Nuclear Partners managers will work at the
site initially.
Fort Calhoun shut in early April 2011 for a monthlong
refueling that was extended when rising flood water
from the Missouri River surrounded the site in early June.
An electrical breaker fire at the plant the following month
raised additional safety issues and resulted in a "red" safety
violation, the most serious classification used by the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
After months of work to make repairs and inspect safety
systems, the NRC issued restart guidelines in June which OPPD
must complete before the station can produce power.
This is the third time OPPD has delayed its timetable to
restart the plant.
Fort Calhoun is now subject to an NRC monitoring program
reserved for nuclear stations with significant performance
issues and that have been shut for extended periods of time.
The plant cannot restart without NRC approval.
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PLANT BACKGROUND/TIMELINE
STATE: Nebraska
County: Washington
TOWN: Fort Calhoun, about 65 miles (100 km) northeast
of Lincoln, the state capital
OPERATOR: Omaha Public Power District
OWNER(S): Omaha Public Power District
CAPACITY: 478 MW
UNIT(S) : Combustion Engineering two-loop pressurized water
reactor
FUEL: Nuclear
DISPATCH: Baseload
COST: $754.65 million (2007 USD) according to the U.S.
EIA
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TIMELINE:
1966 - Unit commenced operations
1973 - Unit began commercial production
2003 - A 20-year license extension was granted
Aug 2033 - Unit license expires