POWER April 2014 - 52

NUCLEAR POWER
2. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. Entergy plans to close the 605-MW
plant at the end of its current fuel cycle, expected in the fourth quarter of 2014. Courtesy:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
of operating income from the facility. And
then there are the workers.
As plants close, some employees are able
to take early retirement, but most were in the
workforce for a reason, and retirement wasn't
part of their immediate plan.
The uncertainty can be very difficult for
employees. Will their jobs be eliminated?
Will they be able to transfer to the decommissioning
team or to another operational plant?
Will relocation be required?
For their part, all four companies that recently
announced nuclear plant closings have
indicated that they want to ease the transition
for their personnel, but deciding the best and
most cost-effective way to accomplish that
can be difficult.
According to Heather Danenhower, setion
(SONGS, Figure 4) experienced a similar
fate. Southern California Edison (SCE)
had replaced the SGs in both of its operating
units-Units 2 and 3-between September
2009 and February 2011. In January 2012,
station operators detected a leak in a Unit
3 SG tube. Further investigation revealed
unexpected tube-to-tube wear in both units
caused by fluid elastic instability (or excessive
tube vibration). After nearly a year and
a half of testing and analysis, the decision
was made to permanently retire the facility
on June 7, 2013.
Making the Transition
It is difficult for everyone involved when a
plant closes. Independent system operators
must manage the electrical grid differently
in order to adjust for the lost generation.
In California, the Huntington Beach facility
converted its generators to synchronous
condensers for voltage support after the
closing of SONGS (see " AES Uses Synchronous
Condensers for Grid Balancing "
in the March 2014 issue of POWER, online
at powermag.com). Companies must deal
with the cost of decommissioning and a loss
3. Crystal River Nuclear Plant. Issues with the reactor containment led Duke Energy to
permanently close the 860-MW unit. Courtesy: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
nior communications consultant for CR3,
Duke is committed to retaining its nuclear
talent. " We worked hard to match employees'
preferences with business needs. For
example, when the decision was made, we
asked employees whether they wanted to
leave the company with severance benefits,
to redeploy to another position, or to stay on
site to work in the Decommissioning Transition
Organization [DTO]. In most cases, we
were able to fulfill employees' preferences, "
Danenhower said.
Duke held onsite job fairs for positions
within the company and gave CR3 employees
preference for interviews as long as they
met the minimum qualifications. Although
unable to provide exact numbers, Danenhower
said that many of the CR3 employees
accepted positions within Duke's nuclear
organization based in the Carolinas. Others
accepted positions in the company's fossil
and transmission and distribution operations
in Florida. Any who redeployed more than
50 miles were offered relocation packages to
help them and their families make the transition
to their new site.
Reducing the Numbers
When Duke announced the decision to retire
CR3 on Feb. 5, 2013, the plant had 585 fulltime
employees, not including security personnel
and contractors. The first employee
separations occurred in May 2013, and more
followed throughout the year. All personnel
who left the company were notified of their
impending separation at least 60 days in advance,
and all received severance benefits.
There are currently 275 personnel assigned
to the DTO staff, but that number is expected
to shrink over time. The company's current
schedule places the plant into its SAFSTOR
condition by July 2015. SAFSTOR is one of
three NRC-approved strategies for decommissioning
in which the facility is placed and
maintained in a condition that allows it to be
52
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POWER April 2014

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