View source for L-PI-09-117, Prairie Lsland, Unit 2, Lrradiated Fuel Management Plan and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimates

{{Adams
| number = ML093020064
| issue date = 10/28/2009
| title = Prairie Lsland, Unit 2, Lrradiated Fuel Management Plan and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimates
| author name = Schimmel M
| author affiliation = Northern States Power Co, Xcel Energy
| addressee name = 
| addressee affiliation = NRC/Document Control Desk, NRC/NRR
| docket = 05000306
| license number = DPR-060
| contact person = 
| case reference number = L-PI-09-117, TAC MD9492, TAC MD9493, TAC MD9494, TAC MD9495
| document type = Letter type:L
| page count = 7
| project = TAC:MD9492, TAC:MD9493, TAC:MD9494, TAC:MD9495
| stage = Other
}}

=Text=
{{#Wiki_filter:L-PI-09-117 OCT 9 8 2W                                                                    10 CFR 50.54 10 CFR 50.75 U S Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555-0001 Prairie lsland Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 2 Docket 50-306 License No. DPR-60 lrradiated Fuel Management Plan and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimates for Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP)

==References:==
: 1. Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) letter to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), "Irradiated Fuel Management Plan and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimates for Prairie lsland Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP)", dated August 8, 2008, Accession Number ML082260425.
: 2. Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM) letter to the NRC, "Supplement to lrradiated Fuel Management Plan and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimates for Prairie lsland Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) (TAC Nos. MD9492, MD9493, MD9494, and MD9495)", dated January 19, 2009, Accession Number ML090210156.
: 3. NRC letter to NSPM, "Prairie lsland Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 -Safety Evaluation RE: Spent Fuel Management Program and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimate (TAC Nos. MD9492, MD9493, MD9494, and MD9495)", dated June I,             2009, Accession Number ML091200541.
: 4. NSPM letter to the NRC, "Supplement to lrradiated Fuel Management Plan and Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimates for Prairie lsland Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) (TAC Nos. MD9492, MD9493, MD9494, and MD9495)", dated March 12,2009, Accession Number ML090760499.
1717 Wakonade Drive East  Welch, Minnesota 55089-9642 Telephone: 651.388.1 121

Document Control Desk Page 2 References (continued)
: 5. Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM) letter to the NRC, "Decommissioning Funding Status Reports", dated March 31, 2009, Accession Number ML090910082.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54(bb), a licensee shall "submit written notification to the Commission for its review and preliminary approval of the program by which the licensee intends to manage and provide funding for the management of all irradiated fuel at the reactor following permanent cessation of operation of the reactor until title to the irradiated fuel and possession of the fuel is transferred to the Secretary of Energy for its ultimate disposal in a repository." Additionally, 10 CFR 50.75(f)(3), "Reporting and Recordkeeping for Decommissioning Planning" states, "each power reactor licensee shall at or about 5 years prior to the projected end of operations submit a preliminary decommissioning cost estimate which includes an up-to-date assessment of the major factors that could affect the cost to decommission." In Reference 1, as supplemented by References 2 and 4, NMC* submitted the Irradiated Fuel Management Plan and the PlNGP Preliminary Decommissioning Cost Estimate for PlNGP Units 1 and 2.
The NRC safety evaluation (Reference 3) stated, "Although the licensee provided cost information for both Unit 1 and Unit 2, the expiration of the operating license for PlNGP Unit 2 is not until October 29, 2014. Therefore, due to possible significant changes in cost and the decommissioning trust fund (DTF) balance by the time Unit 2 reaches 5 years before expiration of its license, the NRC staffs assessment is based on and covers only Unit 1." NSPM fulfillment of the requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(bb) and 10 CFR 50.75(f)(3) for PlNGP Unit 2 is provided by Attachment 1 to Reference 1, entitled, "Decommissioning Cost Analysis for Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, August 2008, by TLG Services, Inc", as supplemented by Reference 2, Reference 4, and this letter and enclosure. This cost analysis is the most recently completed and remains a valid estimate of future decommissioning costs for Unit 2.
Enclosure 1 reviews the Trust Fund Balance which includes a biennial comparison and an update of the Trust Fund Balance in Reference 5, current as of July 31, 2009 for both Unit 1 and Unit 2. In addition Enclosure 1 reviews changes to the Annual Contribution. Finally, Enclosure 1 provides a review of changes to the real rate of return and includes a sufficiency of funds analysis for Unit 2 to update Reference 2, current as of July 31, 2009.
If there are any questions or if additional information is needed, please contact Mr. Dale Vincent, P.E., at 651-388-1121.
* On September 22, 2008, NMC transferred its operating authority to Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation (NSPM), doing business as Xcel Energy. By letter dated September 3, 2008, NSPM assumed responsibility for actions and commitments previously submitted by NMC.

Document Control Desk Page 3 Summaw of Commitments This letter contains no new commitments and no revisions to existing commitments.
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Mark A. Schimmel Site Vice President Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 Northern States Power Company - Minnesota Enclosures (1) cc:    Administrator, Region Ill, USNRC Project Manager, PINGP, USNRC Resident Inspector, PINGP, USNRC

Enclosure 1
: 1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Minimum and Funding Status The NRC minimum decommissioning financial assurance requirement for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) as reported in Reference 1 of this Enclosure and set forth in 10 CFR 50.75 (c) is approximately $345.7 million for Unit 1 and $345.7 million for Unit 2. As of July 31, 2009, the PINGP decommissioning trust funds balances were $333.7 million for Unit 1 and $357.8 for Unit 2. The trust fund monies will be used for radiological decommissioning and irradiated fuel management.
However, inclusion of irradiated fuel costs in this submittal is not intended to acknowledge that these costs will ultimately be borne by Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota corporation (NSPM, doing business as Xcel Energy, since some (or all) are expected to be the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy as a result of the breach of the Standard Contract of Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel andlor High-Level Radioactive Waste.
The following table, Table 1, includes comparisons of the radiological decommissioning, spent fuel management, and site restoration segmentation of the trust fund balances for PINGP Unit 1 and Unit 2 calculated for the beginning of 2008 and 2009. The current funding status ending in July of 2009 shows a significant improvement of the funds that exceeds the NRC minimum for Unit 2.
Table 1: Trust Fund Balances PlNGP Unit 1                               2008              2009           July 2009 Radiological Decommissioning          370,245,731       305,379,191       333,676,530 Spent Fuel Management                    24,146,461       19,916,034        21,761,513 Site Restoration                         8,048,820         6,638,678         7,253,837 Total                                  402,441,012       331,933,903       362,691,880 PlNGP Unit 2                               2008              2009           July 2009 Radiological Decommissioning           387,142,205      327,830,502       357,804,725 Spent Fuel Management                   30,111,059       25,497,927        27,829,257 Site Restoration                        12,904,741       10,927,684         11,926,824 Total                                  430,158,005      364,256,113       397,560,806 Page 1 of 4 NSPM
: 2. Annual Contributions In 2009, based on a ruling by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, these funds are not being supplemented with any annual Company contributions for radiological decommissioning. Adjustments to the annual contribution require approval of multiple state public utilities commissions and will be pursued to recover any projected shortfall.
The following annual contributions table, Table 2, shows the approximate accrual segmentation for radiological decommissioning, spent fuel management, and site restoration for PlNGP Unit 1 and Unit 2.
Table 2: Annual Contributions PlNGP Unit 1 Radiological Decommissioning Spent Fuel Management Site Restoration Total PlNGP Unit 2 Radiological Decommissioning Spent Fuel Management Site Restoration Total
: 3. Sufficiency of Funds Analysis Although the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission discontinued the annual supplement, the Commission approved a decommissioning plan that included a 2.89 percent cost escalation rate and a 6.30 percent earnings rate on external funds. The table below, Table 3, demonstrates that the approved 3.41 percent rate of return applied to the current balance reconcile when contributions and earnings are added and the annual costs are subtracted. The projected balance at the end of decommissioning is more than adequate to cover the costs of radiological decommissioning. The 3.41 percent rate of return begins with the 2010 projection.
Table 3: Funds Analysis PlNGP Unit 2 Beginning                              Balance Before   Assumed Balance    Payment        Annuity         Interest    Interest Ending Balance 2009   357,804,725                                 357,804,725   5,083,809     362,888,534 201 0  362,888,534                                 362,888,534  12,374,499     375,263,033 201 1  375,263,033                                 375,263,033  12,796,469     388,059,502 2012   388,059,502                   10,415,560    398,475,062  13,588,000     412,063,062 Page 2 of 4 NSPM PlNGP Unit 2 Beginning                      Balance Before   Assumed Balance  Payment    Annuity         Interest    lnterest Ending Balance 2013   412,063,062           10,415,560    422,478,622  14,406,521     436,885,143 2014   436,885,143            8,332,448    435,832,591  14,861,891     450,694,482 2015   450,694,482                         392,676,482  13,390,268     406,066,750 2016   406,066,750                         306,023,750  10,435,410     316,459,160 2017    316,459,160                        223,603,160   7,624,868     231,228,028 2018    231,228,028                        162,145,028   5,529,145     167,674,173 2019    167,674,173                        124,136,173   4,233,044     128,369,217 2020    128,369,217                        118,648,217   4,045,904     122,694,121 2021    122,694,121                        113,000,121   3,853,304     116,853,425 2022    116,853,425                        107,159,425   3,654,136      110,813,562 101,119,562   3,448,177      104,567,739 94,846,739   3,234,274       98,081,013 88,387,013   3,013,997       91,401,010 81,707,010   2,786,209       84,493,219 74,799,219   2,550,653       77,349,872 67,628,872   2,306,145       69,935,017 53,653,017   1,829,568       55,482,585 14,100,585    480,830       14,581,414 5,082,414     173,310       5,255,725 5,219,725     177,993       5,397,717 5,376,717     183,346       5,560,063 5,560,063     189,598       5,749,662 5,749,662     196,063       5,945,725 5,945,725     202,749       6,148,474 6,148,474     209,663       6,358,137 6,358,137     216,812       6,574,950 6,574,950     224,206       6,799,156 6,799,156     231,851       7,031,007 7,031,007     239,757       7,270,764 7,270,764     247,933       7,518,697 7,518,697     256,388       7,775,085 7,775,085     265,130       8,040,215 8,040,215     274,171       8,314,386 8,314,386     283,521       8,597,907 8,597,907     293,189       8,891,096 8,891,096     303,186       9,194,282 9,194,282     313,525       9,507,807 Page 3 of 4 NSPM PlNGP Unit 2 Beginning                          Balance Before   Assumed Balance     Payment     Annuity         Interest    Interest Ending Balance 2050      9,507,807                              9,507,807     324,216        9,832,023 2051      9,832,023                              9,832,023     335,272       10,167,295 2052     10,167,295                             10,167,295     346,705       10,514,000 2053     10,514,000  10,514,000 Total                  537,984,000
: 4. References
: 1. Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM) letter to the NRC, "Decommissioning Funding Status Reports", dated March 31, 2009, Accession Number ML090910082.
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