FirstEnergy's Beaver Valley Power Station Receives License Renewal from
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
Company (FENOC), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), announced today
that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a 20-year license
extension for the Beaver Valley Power Station Unit 1 and Unit 2 in
Shippingport, Pa.
FENOC submitted a revised license renewal application to the NRC in 2007 for
Unit 1 and Unit 2 to operate until 2036 and 2047, respectively. Unit 1's
original license was set to expire in 2016 followed by Unit 2 in 2027.
"Today's NRC decision is an important milestone for FirstEnergy," said Anthony
J. Alexander, president and chief executive officer of FirstEnergy. "I am
very proud of our employees at Beaver Valley, who have not only maintained
some of the highest safety and performance standards in the industry, but have
worked to ensure that the plant remains a key asset to the company and the
community for many years to come."
The license renewal was granted after the NRC thoroughly inspected and audited
the plant's safety and environmental programs; heard detailed information from
Beaver Valley representatives during five public meetings; and reviewed more
than 3,000 pages of supporting documents. The NRC concluded there were no
safety concerns that preclude license renewal.
"As a result of the license extension, the additional 20 years of operation
means Beaver Valley will remain an important source of safe, reliable and
clean electricity for the region while providing good paying jobs and
financial support to the community," said Paul Harden, vice president of
Beaver Valley.
Beaver Valley is capable of generating 1,815 megawatts (net), or enough
electricity to power more than 1.4 million homes. In addition, plant
operations avoid more than 12 tons of carbon dioxide gases annually, an amount
equal to what would have been emitted by a similar-sized coal fired power
plant.
The station is one of the largest taxpayers and employers in Beaver County.
Annual property and payroll tax payments total $4 million, with some of the
tax dollars supporting local schools and police and fire departments. The
plant employs 950 highly trained professionals with an annual payroll of
nearly $70 million. In addition, employees have contributed more than $1.2
million to local charitable organizations since 2001.
Beaver Valley Unit 1 and Unit 2 went into operation in 1976 and 1987,
respectively. FENOC began operating the plant in 1999 after an asset transfer
with Duquesne Light. Since that time, the company has invested more than $500
million to ensure continued safe and reliable operations including the
replacement of Unit 1's reactor head and steam generators in 2006 and power
output increases totaling 10 percent since 2002.
Beaver Valley is the 56th out of 104 nuclear reactors in the United State to
receive a license extension from the NRC.
FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Its
subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the generation, transmission and
distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other
energy-related services. Its seven electric utility operating companies
comprise the nation's fifth largest investor-owned electric system, based on
4.5 million customers served, within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and its generation subsidiaries control more than
14,000 megawatts of capacity.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking
statements based on information currently available to management. Such
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements
include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current
expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the
terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect," "believe," "estimate" and similar
words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially due to the
speed and nature of increased competition in the electric utility industry and
legislative and regulatory changes affecting how generation rates will be
determined following the expiration of existing rate plans in Pennsylvania,
the impact of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's regulatory process on
the Ohio Companies associated with the distribution rate case, economic or
weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for
energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices and availability,
replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged,
the continued ability of FirstEnergy's regulated utilities to collect
transition and other charges or to recover increased transmission costs,
operating and maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, other
legislative and regulatory changes, revised environmental requirements,
including possible greenhouse gas emission regulations, the potential impacts
of the U.S. Court of Appeals' July 11, 2008 decision requiring revisions to
the Clean Air Interstate Rules and the scope of any laws, rules or regulations
that may ultimately take their place, the uncertainty of the timing and
amounts of the capital expenditures needed to, among other things, implement
the Air Quality Compliance Plan (including that such amounts could be higher
than anticipated or that certain generating units may need to be shut down) or
levels of emission reductions related to the Consent Decree resolving the New
Source Review litigation or other similar potential regulatory initiatives or
actions, adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including, but
not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating permits and
oversight) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Metropolitan Edison Company's
and Pennsylvania Electric Company's transmission service charge filings with
the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the continuing availability of
generating units and their ability to operate at or near full capacity, the
ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards, the
ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals
(including employee workforce initiatives), the ability to improve electric
commodity margins and to experience growth in the distribution business, the
changing market conditions that could affect the value of assets held in
FirstEnergy's nuclear decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and other trust
funds, and cause it to make additional contributions sooner, or in an amount
that is larger than currently anticipated, the ability to access the public
securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with
FirstEnergy's financing plan and the cost of such capital, changes in general
economic conditions affecting the company, the state of the capital and credit
markets affecting the company, interest rates and any actions taken by credit
rating agencies that could negatively affect FirstEnergy's access to financing
or its costs or increase its requirements to post additional collateral to
support outstanding commodity positions, letters of credit and other financial
guarantees, the continuing decline of the national and regional economy and
its impact on the company's major industrial and commercial customers, issues
concerning the soundness of financial institutions and counterparties with
which FirstEnergy does business, and the risks and other factors discussed
from time to time in its Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and other
similar factors. The foregoing review of factors should not be construed as
exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for
management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such
factor on FirstEnergy's business or the extent to which any factor, or
combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims
any current intention to update any forward-looking statements contained
herein as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
News Media: Todd Schneider, +1-330-761-4055, office, or +1-330-620-2895, cell,
Investors: Ron Seeholzer, +1-330-384-5415
