Susquehanna Steam Electric Station

 Three Mile Island Alert's Questions on the 

NRC’s Annual Assessment of the 

Susquehanna Steam Electric Station 

May 19, 2009 

1)  PPL sought to publicly hide the extent of their decommissioning losses in 

an affidavit the Company submitted to the NRC on March 26, 2009.  PPL’s 

one year decommissioning losses are staggering by any standard. “The fair 

value of investments that are legally restricted due the decommissioning of 

the Susquehanna Nuclear plant was $446 million and $555 million in at 

December 31, 2008 and 2007...” (PPL 2008 Annual Report,  Nuclear 

Decommissioning, p. 191) 

PPL lost $109 million from the fund in one year and now has$446 

million out of projected $936 million (2002 dollars) needed to 

decommission it operating nuclear units. 

How will PPL recoup the losses after 12/31/2009? 

 The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES) contains the nation’s 

19th and 20th largest nuclear reactors. The plant currently generates 60 

metric tons of nuclear waste annually. The SSES is a limited liability 

corporation (“LLC”), and out of the rate base. A license extension, uprate or 

by Eric Joseph Epstein 

Nuclear Trash On The River 

     The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES) contains the nation’s 

 March 16, 2009

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has completed its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, and concluded that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation. The staff has also issued a safety evaluation report (SER) that documents the interim results of the NRC staff’s review of the license renewal application and site audits of Susquehanna’s aging management programs to address the safety of plant operations during the period of extended operations. Overall, the interim results show that PPL has identified actions that have been or will be taken to manage the effects of aging in the appropriate safety systems, structures and components of the plant and that their functions will be maintained during the period of extended operation. 

TMI Alert Chairman Eric Epstein presented testimony in a civil lawsuit pertaining to the relicensing of PPL's Susquehanna Steam Electric Station. Epstein asked that action toward relicensing the plant be put on hold until unresolved water use issues are resolved. 

To read the full complaint, and other related documents and articles, open PDF attachments: