ML20247K499
| ML20247K499 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Comanche Peak  |
| Issue date: | 09/14/1989 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20247K495 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8909210183 | |
| Download: ML20247K499 (3) | |
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SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION-1 RELATING TO AMENDMENT N0. 11-T0 CONSTRUCTION PERMIT CPPR-126
'AND AMENDMENT NO. 10 TO CONSTRUCTION PERMIT CPPR-127 TEXAS UTILITIES ELECTRIC COMPANY, ET AL*
COMANCHE PEAK STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-445 AND 50-446-INTRODUCTION By a letter dated May 4,1989, Texas Utilities Electric Company (TU Electric) requested an amendment to Construction-Permit Nos. CPPR-126 and CPPR-127 to permit a reallocation of ownership interest in the Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station (CPSES), Units 1 and 2.
EVALUATION Amendment No. 11 to Construction No. CPPR-126 and Amendment No. 10 to Construction.
Permit No. CPPR-127 authorize the transfer of a 2-1/6% ownership interest in the Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and-2, from Tex-La Electric Cooper-ative of Texas, Inc. (Tex-La) to TU Electric.
Issuance of Amendment No.11' and
-Amendment No. 10 would delete Tex-La ai. an owner on the construction permits and increase TU Electric's aggregate ownership to 100%.**
Antitrust Matters All existing CPSES owners (licensees) have been subjected to antitrust review.
In addition, extensive antitrust license conditions that apply to TU Electric have been attached tc the CPSES construction permits. The proposed reallocation of ownership interest does not provide for a new owner or licensee, only a re-purchase.of interest by the lead applicant, TU Electric.
- The current Construction Permit holders for the Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station are: Texas Utilities Electric Company and Texas Municipal Power Agency.
Transfer of ownership from Texas Municipal Power Agency to Texas Utilities Electric Company was previously authorized by Amendments No. S and No. 8 to Construction Permits CPPR-126 and CPPR-127, respectively, on August 25, 1988 to take place in 10 installments as set forth in the agreement attached to the ap-plication for Amendment dated March 4, 1988. At the completion thereof, Texas Municipal Power Agency is no longer an applicant or construction permit holder.
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Safety Evaluation The H cense conditions attached to the CPSES construction permit required TV Electrk to offer ownership access to entities in a specified area of the state of Texas. As a result of the conditions, several smaller power systems purchased shares in the plant, including Tex-La.
For a number of reasons, Tex-La now wishes to sell its 2-1/6% intertst in the CPSES back to TU Electric. On March 23, 1989, TU Electric and Tex-La entered into a settlement agreement that provides for the purchase by TU Electric of all of Tex-La's ownership interest in the CPSES and also terminates all pending litigation between the two parties in various District Court proceedings in Texas originating from Tex-La's participation in the CPSES.
Staff review of the request for amendment concluded that a formal antitrust review is not required in view of NRC's determination that the proposed ownership transfer will not adversely impact the existing CPSES antitrust license conditions, nor significantly impact competition in bulk power services in the North Texas area.
In light of the fact that there will be no new owners as a result of the proposed amendment, and TU Electric, the recipient of Tex-La's share, is obligated to extensive license conditions, staff concluded that the 2-1/6% increase in TU Electric's ownership interest in the CPSES to f
100% will not significantly impact competition in the north Texas area.
Financial Matters The staff performed a financial qualification review of 70 Electric pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 50.33(f) and Appendix C to 10 CFR Part 50. These pro-visions require an applicant to demonstrate that ft has reasonable assurance of obtaining the funds necessary to cover estimated construction costs and related fuel cycle costs. TU Electric is planning to finance the cost of purchasing the additional interest in CPSES in the same manner as it finances its overall con-struction program, including present and previous financing of the CPSES. TU Electric obtains its construction financing in the same general manner and from the same general sources as do most investor-owned electric utilities. Those sources include primarily funds from operations (internal sources), combined with l
funds obtained from external financing. TU Electric, being a wholly-owned sub-sidiary of Texas Utilities (TV), sells its common stock to TU, which in turn issues securities to the public. TV Electric sells its preferred stock and bonds directly to the public. To provide for immediate cash requirements during periods between long-term financings, TU Electric obtains short-term loans from TU, which had lines of credit with commer:ial banks aggregating $1.0 billion at December 31, 1986.
The financing of the cost of the additional 2-1/6% interest in the CPSES is placed in perspective by reviewing TU Electric's successfully completed construction financing over the past several years and projected financing for the next several years. For calendar years 1986, 1987, and 1988, TU Electric financed l
total construction expenditures averaging $1.3 billion per year. These expen-
'l ditures were covered by internal sources of cash (from electric operations) and external financing. A portion of the funds was used to cover working capital requirements but the majority was used for construction, including the CPSES.
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Safety Evaluation -
TU Electric's projected system-wide construction program (including the 100%
interest in the CPSES) for calendar years 1989, 1990, and 1991 calls for total expenditures averaging $931 million per year. These projected construction expenditures are in the same general range as actual expenditures for the previous years. The annual cost of the additional interest in CPSES is a small fraction of TV Electric's recent and projected annual construction expenditures and sources of funds.
TU Electric has presented a reasonable financing plan for the additional 2-1/6%
interest in the CPSES that it proposes to purchase. Thus, it has demonstrated reasonable assurance that it can obtain the funds to purchase the interest.
The staff has concluded that TV Electric is financially qualified to acquire the additional ownership interest in the CPSES.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.21, 51.32, and 51.35, an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact has been prepared and published in the Federal Register on August 29, 1989 (54 FR 35737). Accordingly, based on the envivon-mental assessment, the Commission has determined that the issuance of this amendment will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human l
environment.
CONCLUSION Amendment No. 11 to Construction Permit No. CPPR-126 and Amendment No. 10 to Construction Permit CPPR-127 are strictly administrative in nature for the pur-pose of reallocating ownership interest only. No technical conditions have been added or deleted from the construction permits. The staff concludes that:
(1) the proposed amendments to Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-126 and CPPR-127, permitting the transfer of ownership interest, do not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of accidents pre-viously considered, do not create the possibility of an accident of a type different from any evaluated previously, do not involve a significant decrease in a safety margin, and thus do not involve a significant hazards consideration; (2) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be encangered by construction and operation in the proposed manner; and (3) such activities will be in compliance with the Commission's regulations, and the issuance of the anendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Date of Issuance: August 29, 1989 Principal Contributors:
W. Lambe, PTSB J. Petersen, PTSB 1
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