No. II-10-013 April 2, 2010 

CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

 Joey Ledford (404) 562-4416 

NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS 

2009 PERFORMANCE OF OCONEE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting for Thursday, 

April 8, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance during 2009 at the Oconee 

nuclear power plant. The plant, operated by Duke Energy, is near Seneca, S.C., about 30 miles 

west of Greenville. 

The meeting, in the Oconee World of Energy, 7812 Rochester Highway in Seneca, is 

informal and will begin with a short presentation at 6:30 p.m., followed by an open house ending 

at 8 p.m. 

NRC staff will be available to answer questions on the safety performance of the Oconee 

plant, as well as the NRC role in ensuring safe plant operation. 

“We inspect and review the performance of the Oconee plant and all other commercial 

nuclear plants throughout the year,” NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes said. “This 

meeting gives us an opportunity to discuss the plant’s safety performance with the company, 

local officials and citizens interested in the plant.” 

A letter sent from the NRC Region II office to plant officials addresses the performance 

of the plant during 2009 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on 

the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/oco_2009q4.pdf . 

The NRC found that the Oconee plant met all NRC safety objectives during 2009, and 

performance for all three units was at a level that resulted in no additional NRC oversight. Unit 1 

was subject to a supplemental inspection in August 2009 due to a fourth quarter 2008 inspection 

finding of low to moderate safety significance related to a voltage regulator maintenance 

procedure. Actions were taken to address that finding, and the inspection identified no 

weaknesses. 

 

During the remainder of 2010, the NRC plans to continue to conduct the very detailed 

baseline inspections required at all plants. Those inspections are performed by NRC resident 

inspectors assigned to the site, supplemented by more specific inspections completed by regionbased NRC inspectors. In addition to the detailed routine inspections, the agency will complete 

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some generic inspections related to reactor cooling system maintenance and spent fuel storage at 

Oconee in 2010 as well as conduct operator licensing examinations. The NRC staff will also 

continue its review of significant modifications to the plant associated with fire protection, 

external flooding, tornadoes and high energy line break mitigation. 

Current performance information for Oconee Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/OCO1/oco1_chart.html . Current information for 

Units 2 and 3 is at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/OCO2/oco2_chart.html and 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/OCO3/oco3_chart.html . 

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