NLS2019015, Decommissioning Funding

Decommissioning Funding

ML19106A054
Person / Time
Site:	Cooper
Issue date:	03/27/2019
From:	Shaw J Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD)
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NLS2019015
Download: ML19106A054 (4)

Text

H Nebraska Public Power District Always there when you need us NLS2019015 50.75(f)(l)

March 27, 2019 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attention: Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

Subject:

Decommissioning Funding Cooper Nuclear Station, Docket No. 50-298, DPR-46

Dear Sir or Madam:

The purpose of this letter is to provide Nebraska Public Power District's Eleventh Biennial Report on Financial Assurance for Decommissioning for Cooper Nuclear Station in accordance with 10 CFR 50. 75(f)(l ), Reporting and Recordkeeping for Decommissioning Planning. The enclosed report contains the amount of decommissioning funds estimated to be required pursuant to 10 CFR 50.75(b) and (c), the amount accumulated to the end of the calendar year preceding the date of the report, a schedule of the annual amounts remaining to be collected if needed, the assumptions used regarding rates of escalation in decommissioning costs, and the rate of earnings on decommissioning funds.

This letter does not contain commitments.

Should you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact me at (402) 825-2788.

Licensing Manager

/jo

Enclosure:

Eleventh Biennial Report on Financial Assurance for Decommissioning in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.75(f)(l) cc: Regional Administrator w/enclosure Cooper Project Manager w/enclosure USNRC - Region IV USNRC - Plant Licensing Branch IV Senior Resident Inspector w/enclosure NPG Distribution w/o enclosure USNRC-CNS CNS Records w/enclosure COOPER NUCLEAR STATION P.O. Box 98 / Brownville, NE 68321-0098 Telephone: (402) 825-3811 / Fax: (402} 825-5211 www.nppd.com

NLS2019015 Enclosure Page 1 of3 NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT Eleventh Biennial Report on Financial Assurance for Decommissioning in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.75(f)(l)

NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT Eleventh Biennial Report on Financial Assurance for Decommissioning In Accordance with 10 CFR 50.75(f)(1)

Date: February 25, 2019 Station: Cooper Nuclear Station Owner/licensee making the report: Nebraska Public Power District Nebraska Public Power District (the "District") is a public corporation and political subdivision of the state of Nebraska. The District has the power and is required to fix, establish, and collect adequate rates and other charges for electrical energy and any and all commodities or services sold or furnished by it. The District is accordingly authorized to establish its own rates and other charges through which it can recover its cost of service. The District is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors who are popularly elected from the District's chartered territory. The Board of Directors is the rate making authority for the District.

Percentage Ownership: 100 10 CFR 50.75(b) & (c) Decommissioning Estimate (2018 Dollars): $635,667,000 1 2

Decommissioning Fund Total as of 12/31/2018: $600,371,186 Schedule of Future Annual Fund Projected Earnings and the NRC Minimum Decommissioning 3

Cost in Constant 2018 dollars Projected Decommissioning Earnings Credit Funding Applying NRC Beginning Funding Requirement Approved Real Ending Minimum Year Balance Contribution Year-Beginning Rate of Return Balance 2018 Dollars 2019 $600,371,186 0 $15,009,280 $615,380,466 $635,667,000 2020 $615,380,466 0 $15,384,512 $630,764,977 $635,667,000 2021 $630,764,977 0 $15,769,124 $646,534,102 $635,667,000 2022 $646,534, 102 0 $16, 163,353 $662,697,454 $635,667,000 2023 $662,697,454 0 $16,567,436 $679,264,891 $635,667,000 2024 $679,264,891 0 $16,981,622 $696,246,513 $635,667,000 1

This updated estimate is based upon NRC decommissioning minimum certification escalation requirements in 10 CFR 50.75(c)(1) and (2) and guidance per NUREG 1307 for a BWR the size (2,419 MW thermal) of Cooper Nuclear Station. The calculation utilizes the waste burial factor for Unaffiliated and Compact-Affiliated States with no Disposal Facility in Revision 17 of NUREG 1307 and Labor (final) and Energy (preliminary) escalation factors derived from December 2018 Midwest regional data of the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• 2 This is the total amount (market value) in the external sinking fund (as described in 10 CFR 50. 75) available to cover the costs of NRG-defined decommissioning.

3 These figures will be recalculated on an annual basis in accordance with 10 CFR 50.75 (b) and (c). The above amounts reflect the current projected annual contributions (including fund earnings), as necessary, to fully fund the decommissioning trust by the end of the operating license (license expiration January 18, 2034), and taking into account a pro rata credit during the dismantlement period (recognizing both cash expenditures and earnings) over the first seven years after shutdown on a constant dollar basis (see 10 CFR 50.75(e)(1)(ii)). Please note that all submissions by the District prior to 2015 in accordance with 10 CFR 50.75(f)(1) have been provided on a nominal dollar basis. This change is responsive to RAI #3 included in a May 23, 2013 email from Lynnea Wilkins, NRC Project Manager.

Projected Decommissioning Earnings Credit Funding Applying NRC Beginning Funding Requirement Approved Real Ending Minimum Year Balance Contribution Year-Beginning Rate of Return Balance 2018 Dollars 2025 $696,246,513 0 $17,406,163 $713,652,676 $635,667,000 2026 $713,652,676 0 $17,841,317 $731,493,993 $635,667,000 2027 $731,493,993 0 $18,287,350 $749,781,342 $635,667,000 2028 $749,781,342 0 $18,744,534 $768,525,876 $635,667,000 2029 $768,525,876 0 $19,213,147 $787,739,023 $635,667,000 2030 $787,739,023 0 $19,693,476 $807,432,498 $635,667,000 2031 $807,432,498 0 $20,185,812 $827,618,311 $635,667,000 2032 $827,618,311 0 $20,690,458 $848,308,769 $635,667,000 2033 $848,308,769 0 $21,207,719 $869,516,488 $635,667,000 2034 $869,516,488 $90,809,571 $19,467,673 $798,174,590 2035 $798,174,590 $90,809,571 $17,684,125 $725,049,144 2036 $725,049,144 $90,809,571 $15,855,989 $650,095,563 2037 $650,095,563 $90,809,571 $13,982,150 $573,268,141 2038 $573,268,141 $90,809,571 $12,061,464 $494,520,034 2039 $494,520,034 $90,809,572 $10,092,762 $413,803,223 2040 $413,803,223 $90,809,572 $8,074,841 $331,068,492 Rate Assumptions Rates of escalation used in estimating future decommissioning costs

• 3%

4 Rates of Earnings on Decommissioning Funds Post-tax

• 5.5%

Contracts Relied Upon to Demonstrate Decommissioning Funding Assurance [50.75(e) (1) (v)]:

None Modifications to the District's Current Method of Providing Financial Assurance: None Material Changes to Decommissioning Trust Agreement: None NOTE 1: The District continues to maintain its Decommissioning Trust Fund investments in fixed income securities as required by Nebraska State Statutes.

4 The assumed annual real rate of return is 2.50 percent. The District's Board of Directors (as the licensee's rate setting authority) has approved this assumption for the decommissioning funding plan for Cooper Nuclear Station through the adoption of a Board Resolution, dated June 13, 2008, as part of its official business. There has been no change to that Board Resolution, which was submitted as part of the July 14, 2011, RAI response. ' '

2