NRC Notifies Entergy of Pilgrim Inspections

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has notified Entergy that it will conduct the first of three inspections at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on Jan. 11.

According to a letter submitted to the facility operator on Friday, the first inspection, termed Phase A, will be conducted by three inspectors from the NRC’s Region I office. They will determine whether continued operation at the Massachusetts facility is acceptable and whether additional regulatory action is required to reverse any declining plant performance. The inspectors will review the station’s corrective action program, according to the letter.

The second inspection, Phase B, is set for April 4 and will look at overall corrective action program performance since the last problem identification and resolution inspection was completed in August. The second phase will focus in particular on progress of the site’s performance improvement plan. Results from the first two inspections will inform the scope of Phase C, which is yet to be scheduled.

 

Entergy in October said it would close the power plant no later than 2019. It then announced last month that it would shutter the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York state. It also owns the Vermont Yankee nuclear power facility, which discontinued operations in December 2014.