I'll be starting at TMI in mid-September.
I asked the questions in my interview that B'zilla referenced (license estension, power uprate, spent fuel storage, Rx head replacement etc...) and was completely satisfied with the response of the folks at TMI.
I'd like to agree and disagree with part of what Broadzilla has to say.
First of all, given the political climate of the northeastern United States I completely agree that Exleon is probably in a "dog fight" with respect to license extension at Oyster Creek. However, I went through the same thing at Vermont Yankee a couple of years ago with Entergy. And, Entergy won! In fact, at the time, Entergy had just acquired VY for approx 180 million dollars. The decommissioning fund was worth over 300 million dollars. Because Entergy has a division that performs decom of nuke sites, they could have easily paid themselves to decommission the plant and prospered greatly. However, the cost-benefit analysis showed there was more of an economic incentive to continue to operate the plant.
Given the increasing need for base load generation in the northeast, the acquistion by Exelon of Salem and Hope Creek and the reluctance on the part of citizens and politicians to construct any type of new generating station, I think Oyster Creek has a very good chance of continued operation. But, as we all know, if a decision is made to shutdown that plant it will be based on economics not politics. Exelon may in a fight, but I believe their in a fight to win based on the amount of money they've invested in the region. (Side note: I'm sure I sound like a company cheerleader and I'm not even on the payroll yet!)
Sorry for being so long winded with this post.
I welcome comments.
Regards,
Rex