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###### Nuclear Regulatory Commission

          - [Docket No. 50-244, License No. DPR-18] 

In the Matter of Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant).

## I

Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E or the licensee) is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) to possess, maintain, and operate the R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna) under Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, issued by the Commission on December 10, 1984. The facility is located in Wayne County, New York.

## II

By application dated June 22, 2001, RG&E requested that the Commission consent to the indirect transfer of the facility operating license for Ginna. The indirect transfer would result from the planned acquisition of RG&E's parent company, RGS Energy Group, Inc. (RGS), by Energy East Corporation (Energy East).

According to the application, on February 16, 2001, RGS and Energy East entered into an agreement pursuant to which RGS would be merged with and into a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy East. After the planned merger transaction, RG&E will continue to exist as a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Energy East. RG&E would continue to own Ginna following approval of the proposed indirect transfer of the license, and would continue to be exclusively responsible for the operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of the facility. No physical changes to the facility or operational changes were proposed in the application.

                    Approval of the indirect transfer of the operating license was requested by RG&E pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. Notice of the request for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the                     **Federal Register**                     on August 14, 2001 (66 FR 42687). No hearing requests or written comments were received.                

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its consent in writing. After reviewing the information in the application from RG&E and other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that the acquisition by Energy East of RGS resulting in the establishment of Energy East as the new ultimate indirect parent of RG&E will not affect the qualifications of RG&E as the holder of the license, and that the indirect transfer of the license, to the extent effected by the foregoing transaction, is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission, subject to the conditions set forth below. The foregoing findings are supported by a safety evaluation dated December 10, 2001.

## III

                    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o), and 2234, and 10 CFR 50.80,                     *it is hereby ordered*                     that the application regarding the indirect transfer of the license referenced above is approved, subject to the following conditions:                

(1) RG&E shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation a copy of any application, at the time it is filed, to transfer (excluding grants of security interests or liens) from RG&E to any direct or indirect parent, or to any other affiliated company, facilities for the production, transmission, or distribution of electric energy having a depreciated book value exceeding ten percent (10%) of RG&E's consolidated net utility plant, as recorded on RG&E's books of account.

(2) Should the planned acquisition by Energy East of RGS not be completed by December 31, 2002, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however, upon written application and for good cause shown, such date may in writing be extended. This Order is effective upon issuance.

## IV

                    For further details with respect to this action, see the application dated June 22, 2001, and the safety evaluation dated December 10, 2001, which are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site,                     *http://www.nrc.gov/​NRC/​ADAMS/​index.html.*

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of December, 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John A. Zwolinski, 

Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 01-30973 Filed 12-14-01; 8:45 am] 

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