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PPL Corp (PPL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a $15 billion nuclear power reactor project at the site of a plant it owns in Pennsylvania, the company said on Friday. If plans go according to schedule, the plant, capable of serving about 1 million homes, would open in 2018, PPL said.

PPL Corp. might sell the Bell Bend nuclear reactor it's hoping to build in Salem Township if it can't secure enough federal nuclear loan guarantees, company chief Jim Miller told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Joe Scopelliti, the spokesman for the two-reactor Susquehanna nuclear plant that PPL operates in the township, confirmed Miller made the comments. But the spokesman said the comments might have been taken out of context "a bit" in The Energy Daily newsletter. The publication reported that "the license would be good for 40 years and that if PPL decided not to proceed with a new reactor, the license (according to Miller) 'could be sold to someone who might want to use it.'"

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has granted the request of PPL Susquehanna, LLC, (the licensee) to withdraw its March 28, 2008, application for proposed amendment to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22 for the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The proposed change would have modified PPL Susquehanna, LLC, Units 1 and 2 (PPL) Technical Specifications (TSs) TS 3.6.4.1 ``Secondary Containment,'' and TS 3.6.4.3 ``Standby Gas Treatment System,'' as follows:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an order banning a former senior reactor operator at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for three years. Susquehanna is a two-reactor plant located in Salem Township (Luzerne County), Pa., and operated by PPL. NRC took the action after Keith Davis failed to respond to an earlier order issued by the NRC. Davis was arrested on June 19, 2006, for driving under the influence of alcohol. Under plant procedures and NRC requirements, he was required to report the arrest to PPL upon his first day back at work, which was June 27, 2006. However, he failed to do so. After the arrest came to light, PPL moved Davis to another position with the company and subsequently dismissed him. His operating license was terminated.

PPL Corp.'s Susquehanna nuclear station in Salem Township failed to ensure two staff members met medical requirements, an inspection of the power plant found. The company could be cited for the "apparent violations" and receive additional future scrutiny, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on Friday. The NRC, which performed the inspection, found that two senior reactor operators failed to meet the medical prerequisites for their individual licenses. One operator worked after failing an eye examination, PPL spokesman Joe Scopelliti said. The other worked for about three months after the deadline for a biennial medical exam had expired.

PPL Corp.'s Susquehanna nuclear station in Salem Township failed to ensure two staff members met medical requirements, an inspection of the power plant found. The company could be cited for the "apparent violations" and receive additional future scrutiny, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on Friday. The NRC, which performed the inspection, found that two senior reactor operators failed to meet the medical prerequisites for their individual licenses. One operator worked after failing an eye examination, PPL spokesman Joe Scopelliti said. The other worked for about three months after the deadline for a biennial medical exam had expired.

PPL BELL Bend, LLC; Notice of Receipt and Availability of Application for a Combined License On October 10, 2008, PPL Bell Bend LLC (PPL) filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act and Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' an application for a combined license (COL) for an evolutionary power reactor (US EPR) nuclear power plant at their Berwick site (adjacent to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station) in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The reactor is to be identified as the Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant.

Regulators' concerns about two new nuclear reactor designs could throw a wrench in energy companies' plans for a build-out of nuclear power plants in the U.S. Regulators in France, the U.K. and Finland told French nuclear powerhouse Areva S.A. (CEI.FR) earlier this month to fix a flaw in the safety systems for its EPR reactor, which the company is also seeking to license in the U.S. And in October, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a modified version of the AP1000 reactor, designed by Toshiba Corp.'s (6502.TO) Westinghouse Electric Co., citing concerns about structural integrity. Regulatory delays could force U.S. power companies like Scana Corp. (SCG) and PPL Corp. (PPL) to push back their timetables for building nuclear power plants using the new reactor technology, though both of these companies say their plans currently remain on track. More than a decade after the last commercial nuclear reactor was completed in the U.S., such delays could lead to the kinds of cost overruns that plagued developers in the first wave of U.S. nuclear power plant construction.

Regulators' concerns about two new nuclear reactor designs could throw a wrench in energy companies' plans for a build-out of nuclear power plants in the U.S. Regulators in France, the U.K. and Finland told French nuclear powerhouse Areva S.A. (CEI.FR) earlier this month to fix a flaw in the safety systems for its EPR reactor, which the company is also seeking to license in the U.S. And in October, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a modified version of the AP1000 reactor, designed by Toshiba Corp.'s (6502.TO) Westinghouse Electric Co., citing concerns about structural integrity. Regulatory delays could force U.S. power companies like Scana Corp. (SCG) and PPL Corp. (PPL) to push back their timetables for building nuclear power plants using the new reactor technology, though both of these companies say their plans currently remain on track. More than a decade after the last commercial nuclear reactor was completed in the U.S., such delays could lead to the kinds of cost overruns that plagued developers in the first wave of U.S. nuclear power plant construction.

As PPL Electric Utilities prepares plans to construct its third nuclear power plant near Berwick, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reaching out to the public to explain the permit application process and offer opportunities for public comment on the proposal. The NRC held the first of many public meetings Tuesday at the Kehr Union Ballroom on the campus of Bloomsburg University. Approximately 50 area residents attended. In the fourth quarter of 2008, PPL and UniStar Nuclear Energy plan to submit an application to the NRC for a COL, or combined license, to construct and operate an "AREVA U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor" near PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant at Berwick.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the combined license (COL) application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Bell Bend site near Berwick, Pa. PPL Bell Bend submitted the application and associated information Oct. 13. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. PPL Bell Bend is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately seven miles northeast of Berwick. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

PPL says an alert is over at the Susquehanna nuclear plant in northeastern Pennsylvania after oxygen levels returned to normal in a pump room following a nitrogen leak. The Allentown-based utility says a worker fixing a water line was evacuated Monday morning after higher-than-acceptable levels of nitrogen were detected inside the room. The worker had been using a device containing the gas at the time. PPL says workers used the plant's ventilation system and fans to return oxygen levels to normal. They were then able to get into the room and shut off the source of the nitrogen, and the alert ended at 5:26 p.m.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the Bell Bend site near Berwick, Pa. The applicant, PPL Bell Bend, submitted the application and associated information Oct. 13. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. The PPL application seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, about seven miles southeast of Berwick. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application to certify the design on Dec. 11, 2007. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

Memo to NRC reveals the new practices at Salem Twp. plant in response to allegations. The PPL Corp. sent a letter Friday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission assuring the agency that it has implemented new practices in response to an NRC letter in January that warned of a "chilling effect" on workers' willingness to report safety concerns at the Salem Township nuclear power plant. Related Document PPL response letter to NRC's request The response includes a few new measures and a description of efforts that were implemented at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station before the NRC's letter, such as better recognizing workers for achievements and installing an ombudsman.

UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Electricite de France (EDF) and Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE:CEG), and PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), a UniStar partner, have passed the first regulatory review on the road to building four new nuclear power plants. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission just added the fourth, a plant near Berwick, Pennsylvania, to its docket of combined license applications for new nukes. The NRC now has docketed 26 new nuclear units at 17 different sites for review and approval. It can take up to four years for a project to receive NRC approval, and that's without any public clamor against nukes. The timeline can go way out if lawsuits start getting filed.

Agency will explain how it will review PPL's expected application for a third reactor. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting on Aug. 19 on PPL Corp.'s expected application for a new reactor in Salem Township. The purpose is to discuss how the NRC will review the application, which will include safety and environmental reviews and a mandatory hearing, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said in an e-mail. Because it's been decades since the NRC reviewed new-reactor applications, Sheehan said it's a good idea to explain to the public how the process works.

Twenty-two environmental groups in regions potentially affected by proposed new Areva EPR reactors today urged Energy Secretary Steven Chu to suspend the loan guarantee process for EPR reactor designs. The groups cited an unprecedented November 2, 2009 joint statement from nuclear regulators in France, Finland and the United Kingdom that identifies a significant and fundamental nuclear safety problem with the EPR's instrumentation and control system. The problem has not yet been corrected and may lead to the design being unable to meet NRC licensing requirements. The groups also pointed out the soaring cost estimates for construction of EPR reactors, noting that PPL has posted an estimate of $13-15 billion for a single reactor at Bell Bend, Pennsylvania, which works out to about $8,000-$9,000/kw-at least twice the cost of potential competing technologies. Such costs pose extraordinary risks to taxpayers if loan guarantees are granted. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that about half of new reactor projects using loan guarantees will fail.

Twenty-two environmental groups in regions potentially affected by proposed new Areva EPR reactors today urged Energy Secretary Steven Chu to suspend the loan guarantee process for EPR reactor designs. The groups cited an unprecedented November 2, 2009 joint statement from nuclear regulators in France, Finland and the United Kingdom that identifies a significant and fundamental nuclear safety problem with the EPR's instrumentation and control system. The problem has not yet been corrected and may lead to the design being unable to meet NRC licensing requirements. The groups also pointed out the soaring cost estimates for construction of EPR reactors, noting that PPL has posted an estimate of $13-15 billion for a single reactor at Bell Bend, Pennsylvania, which works out to about $8,000-$9,000/kw-at least twice the cost of potential competing technologies. Such costs pose extraordinary risks to taxpayers if loan guarantees are granted. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that about half of new reactor projects using loan guarantees will fail.

The Susquehanna nuclear plant in northeastern Pennnsylvania is the nation's leader in anonymous allegations made by employees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The agency says it believes some workers at the plant near Berwick are afraid to raise safety issues with their bosses because they fear retaliation. Regulators have issued a warning letter to Allentown-based PPL saying the company must take steps to preclude a "chilled" work environment at the power plant.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the results of an inspection of the proposed aging-management approach for the Susquehanna nuclear power plant on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at a meeting with the facility's management. PPL Susquehanna, LLC, which owns and operates the Salem Township (Luzerne County), Pa., plant, has applied for a 20-year license extension for each of the two units at the site. The inspection is part of an ongoing review of that application. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Eagles Building, at 107 S. Market St. in Berwick, Pa. After a discussion of the inspection results, NRC staff will conduct a question-and-answer session regarding the review for interested members of the public.

Both units at PPL's 2,360-MW Susquehanna nuclear plant in northeastern Pennsylvania were continuing to run at full power Monday afternoon after the operators reported an unusual event at Unit 2's pump room. The company declared an alert, the second-lowest of four emergency classifications established by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

-- Southern Co., PPL Corp. and Duke Energy Corp. are among 17 utilities seeking $122 billion in loan guarantees from a U.S. Energy Department program that makes available $18.5 billion to build nuclear plants. Power companies that want to build 21 reactors submitted applications for the guarantees, the department said in an e- mail today. Spokeswoman Bethany Shively said the department isn't naming the utilities.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently denied a petition requesting it comprehensively review nuclear plants' emergency plans when plants apply for license extensions. Eric Epstein, who filed the petition and leads the nuclear-watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, said the denial effectively clears the way for PPL Corp.'s Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Salem Township to have its license extended 20 years. The station's two units face a renewal hearing Sept. 30 at the NRC's headquarters in Maryland.