ML19319E031
| ML19319E031 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Rancho Seco |
| Issue date: | 10/09/1967 |
| From: | Shaad P SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19319D879 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8003280263 | |
| Download: ML19319E031 (7) | |
Text
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10/9/67 Iq A
--l PES 10 APPLICANT'S CCNPETENCE TO BUILD AND OPERATE PIANT 4
The applicant is a municipal i.arporation under the State of i
California with sole responsibility for supplying electric energy'to con-sumers within the capital city of Sacramento and a surrounding area of 650 i
i square miles.
Its operation consnenced in January 1947. That year an I
average of 68,000 consumers crs eed a peak demand of 77 megswatts and consumed 387 million kilowatt-hours. Today, the. corresponding figures are 205,000 constuners, 750 megawatts, and 1,124 million kilowatt-hours.
This growth has been met effectively with a high level of service and at low rates.
The increased energy required during these two decades of rapid growth has been obtained through contracts with the U. S. Bureau of Recla" nation, through contracts and interchange with the Pacific Gas and Elec-
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tris Company, and through construction by the District of high-head hydro lP ants. Construction of the latter has been under way since 1957. Today, 260 megawatts of this hydro are in operation.
By 1969, this resource will 4
have been fully developed with 610 megawatts of generation in operation.
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-+g With additional power and energy available from the Northwest
.to be delivered via the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest ENV intertie, applicant sees its energy requirements satisfi'ed through the year 1972 and into the year 1973. Appropriate margins are considered in this esti-mate.
Applicant's first attention to nuclear power was in 1956 when the present General Manager (then Manager of Engineering) obtained clearance for access to nuclear power information, some of which at that time was still classified. This was followed by visits to Shippingport during and subsequent to dompletion of that nuclear plant.
Later, the progress or lack of progress at the small plants being constructed at Hallam, Nebraska, and Piqua, Ohio, was followed through first-hand reports".
A more close observation, now with some staff involved, was made of de-velopmental work at the small Vallecito laboratory and plant and of con-struction of the nuclear power plant at Humboldt Bay.
Following publica-tion of Jersey Central's Oyster Creek cost studies and the March 19, 1964, AEC seminar for power company executives at Germantown, a deter-Oi
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mination was made by applicant to plan nuclear for the next required large block of energy.
The schedule set for this spanned a period of nine years and was to locate an acceptable area for a nuclear plant by 1965, to pur-chase a site in this area by 1966, to interview and to select architect-engineers for the project by 1967, to contract for the major equipment required for the plant by 1968, and to have the plant on line five years later--by 1973. To date, this schedule has been kept.
Pursuit of this schedule has involved the General Manager, a member of his staff, and seven qualified members of his engineering, e
operating, and construction departments. The past three year period of activity has allowed, and in another sense required, visits by various of' these personnel to major nucisar plants now under construction in this country, to the offices of architect-engineers or utilities designing and building these projects, and to the facilities of three of the four domestic manufacturers of large nuclear steam supply systems.
In addition, during this period, five of these employecs, including the Manager of 3.
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J0perations, each found time to acquire six units of post-graduate credit in nuclear engineering.
For one of these employees, this was a repeat of a six-week intensive summer course at the University of Michigan, but which course included laboratory work as well.
For large hydro plant construction it has.been a policy of appli-cant not to use turnkey contracts, but instead to retain a competent engineering firm to design the plant and to manage the various contractors who construct the plant. Equipment for the plant is purchased by the appli-cant and construction contracts for the plant are let by the applicant.
Experience has shown that to accomplish project construction satisfactorily in this manner the applicant must have within his own organization an overall engineering competence in the project field.
The design and construction of Rancho Seco nuclear plant will be handled in this same manner. Thus, following the interview and appraisal of each of the engineering firms in this country who by the and of 1966 had achieved experience in nuclear power plant work, the Bechtel Corporation at Vernon, California, was selected by the applicant to perform the design 4.
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.of Rancho Seco and to manage the contractors who will construct the plant.
Bechtel inspection forces will also follow the manufacture of critical pieces of equipment which have been or will be purchased by the appli-cant for this plant. Applicant's chief civil engineer, Mr. John Mattimoe, who is experien:td in both design and construction of large power projects, has been assigned the responsibility for this project within applicant's organization.
Under Mr. Mattimoe, an engineering group is being established to encompass the necessary competence in nuclear eng ineering, mechanical enginee' ring, electrical engineering, ar well.c civil engineering, in the accomplishment of this assignment. This group will Ls a permanent one expanded as may be required to perform the same work on future plants.
l A properly trained and properly licensed force with experienced.
supervision to operate Rancho Seco is to be formed i,n the five years be-tween now and 1973.when the plant is to come on line. Top responsibility for this large and expensive job is being undertaken directly by Mr. Hunt, who is the applicant's Operating Department Manager.. The planned structure for this organization is as shown in Diagram The employees required l
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.will be recruited and trained well in advance of the scheduled plant start-up with key personnel at the plant site during most of the con-struction period.
Large plant operating experience for some of these employees is to be available at plants owned and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The exact schedule of the ouild-up and train-ing of this operating group awaits consultation with an experienced plant superintendent now being recruited.
The foregoing will show that:
(a) applicant's top management has a good understand-ing of the Rancho Seco plant and its requi.iements; (b) the firm of arebitect-engineers retained by the applicant to perform the detailed design of the plant is re-
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l sponsible to the appli<: ant nione. There does not exist the i
possibility of a conflict of interest; (c) the applicant is developing a competent group of engineers having the required disciplines to independently 4
appraise and d' rect the work performed for the applicant by the architect-engineers; 6e
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(d) this group is to be a permanent one independent of operations; and (e) the operating group for the' plant is to be re-cruited and trained specifically for this plant well in advance of the plant's operation and with exposure for principal members of the group to the plant as it is being constructed.
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