NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION: NRC Approves Power Output Increase for Hope Creek Generating Station

Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following announcement on April 30.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by PSEG Nuclear to increase the power generating capacity of Hope Creek Generating Station by 1.6 percent.

The NRC staff determined that the licensee could safely increase the reactor’s power output primarily through more accurate means of measuring feedwater flow. NRC staff also reviewed the company’s evaluations, showing the plant’s design can accommodate the increased power level.

The NRC’s safety evaluation of the plant’s proposed power uprate focused on several areas, including nuclear steam supply systems, instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, accident evaluations, radiological consequences, fire protection, operations and training, testing, and technical specification changes.

The power uprate for Hope Creek, located approximately 18 miles southeast of Wilmington, Del., will increase the reactor’s output from approximately 3,840 to 3,902 megawatts thermal. PSEG Nuclear intends to implement the uprate within six months of NRC’s issuance of the action. The NRC previously published a notice about the power uprate application in the Federal Register. The agency’s evaluation of the power uprate is available through the NRC’s ADAMS electronic document database.

Original source can be found here.