L-99-068, Forwards Application Requesting Consent to Transfer of Dl Ownership Interests in Bvps,Units 1 & 2 to Penn Power & Dl Operating Authority Under FOLs DPR-66 & NPF-73 to Firstenergy Nuclear Operating Co

Forwards Application Requesting Consent to Transfer of Dl Ownership Interests in Bvps,Units 1 & 2 to Penn Power & Dl Operating Authority Under FOLs DPR-66 & NPF-73 to Firstenergy Nuclear Operating Co

ML20206F740
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley
Issue date:	05/05/1999
From:	Cross J, Stetz J CENTERIOR ENERGY, DUQUESNE LIGHT CO.
To:	Collins S NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
Shared Package
ML20206F745	List: L-99-068, Forwards Application Requesting Consent to Transfer of Dl Ownership Interests in Bvps,Units 1 & 2 to Penn Power & Dl Operating Authority Under FOLs DPR-66 & NPF-73 to Firstenergy Nuclear Operating Co ML20206F755
References
L-99-068, L-99-68, NUDOCS 9905060228
Download: ML20206F740 (5)

Text

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1. 69 Mey 5,1999 10 CFR Q 50.80 10 CFR 50.92 L-99-068 BY HAND DELlyERY -

U.S. Nuclear Regul Commission ATTN: Samuel J. Collins, OHice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Mail Stop O-5 E7 One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Re: Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 & 2 (BVPSl&2)

Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-66 & NPF-73, Docket Nos. 50-334 & 50-412 License Amendment Request No. 269/144 Prnnneed Licence Trancrer and C'onforming Administrative Licence Amendments

Dear Mr. Collins:

Pursuant to Section 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and 10 CFR Q 50.80, Duquesne Light Company (DLC) and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), acting for itself and on behalf of Pennsylvania Power Company (Penn Power),

hereby request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) consent to the transfer of DLC's ownership interests in Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 & 2 (BVPSl&2) to Penn

, Power and DLC's operating authority under Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-66 &

NPF-73 to FENOC.

FENOC and DLC request that the NRC consent to this transfer to: (1) authorize Penn Power to possess DLC's 47.5% undivided ownership interest in BVPSI and 13.74% undivided ownership interest in BVPS2; and (2) authorize FENOC to operate BVPSl&2 under essentially the same conditions and authorizations included in the existing licenses. No physical changes will be made to BVPSl&2 as a result of this transfer, and there will be no significant change in the day-to-day operations of BVPSl&2. FENOC and DLC also request , {

NRC approval ofcertain administrative amendments to conform the licenses to reflect the -

U proposed transfer of ownership and operating authority. The Beaver Valley review committees have reviewed these administrative amendments and have determined that they are safe and do

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i not involve a significant hazard consideration as defined by 10 CFR 50.92 based on the safety analysis and no signiEcant hazards evaluation provided in Attachment B to the application.

9905060228 NOSO5 Q PDR ADOCK 05000334 P PDR 3 L

i U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 5,1999 -

Page 2 ,

DLC, a Pennsylvania Corporation, is an electric utility that provides retail electric service to residential, industrial, and commercial consumers in Pennsylvania. DLC owns a 47.5%

undivided interest in BVPSI and a 13.74% undivided interest in BVPS2. DLC is also the licensed operator of BVPSl&2 DLC will continue to operate BVPSl&2 until its ownership interests are transferred to Penn Power. Following the proposed transfer, FENOC will become the licensed operator of BVPSl&2, and Penn Power will own DLC's current ownership interests in BVPSl&2. The other ownership interests in BVPSl&2 will be unaffected.

Penn Power, a Pennsylvania Corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ohio Edison i Company (OE), an Ohio Corporation, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), another Ohio Corporation. Penn Power is an electric utility which provides retail electric service to residential, industrial, and comm,:rcial consumers in Pennsylvania, and already holds a 17.5% undivided ownership interest in BVPSI. During the construction of BVPS2, Penn Power originally had a 6.28% interest in BVPS2, which with NRC's approval was transferred to Ohio Edison prior to issuance of the BVPS2 operating license. See Letter from J.F. Stolz to E.J. Woolever dated April 19,1977.

FENOC is an Ohio Corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of FE. FENOC was organized ,

solely for the purposes of operating nuclear power plants owned by the electric utility i subsidiaries of FE. FE is an electric utility holding company registered under the Public Utility

' Holding Company Act of'935. In addition to OE, which owns an undivided 35% interest in BVPSI and a 41.88% interest in BVPS2, other subsidiaries of FE include Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI), which owns an undivided 24.47% interest in BVPS2, and The Toledo Edison Company (TE), which owns an undivided 19.91% interest in BVPS2. .

Following the proposed transfer, FE subsidiaries will own 100% of BVPSl&2 and will operate l BVPSl&2. The proposed transfer of DLC's ownership interest in the Perry Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP) is the subject of a separate NRC license transfer application being filed on Docket No 50-440.

This transfer is being undertaken pursuant to a DLC restructuring plan approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PaPUC) on May 29,1998, and an agreement in ,

principle dated October 14,1998, in which DLC and FE agreed to the transfer of 1,436 l megawatts (MW) owned by DLC at eight generating units in exchange for 1,328 MW at three power plants owned by Penn Power and CEI. On March 25,1999, the parties implemented ,

this agreement, by simultaneously executing definitive agreements, including the Nuclear l Generation Conveyance Agreement (Conveyance Agreement) and the Generation Exchange l Agreement (Exchange Agreement) pursuant to which DLC has agreed to transfer to Penn i Power and CEI, and they have agreed to assume, all of DLC's ownership and interests in l BVPSl&2 (to Penn Power) and PNPP (to CEI), subject to the requisite regulatory approvals.  !

DLC has also agreed to transfer its authority to operate BVPSl&2 to FENOC, thus makmg l both units wholly-owned and operated by FE subsidiaries. l l

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y c U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 5,1999 Page 3 l In the simultaneous exchange, FE subsidiaries CEI and Penn Power will transfer ownership of

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l three coal-fired plants and one combustion turbine to DLC, which will then be included in

. DLC's planned auction ofits generating assets pursuant to its restructuring plan. Under this plan, DLC will exit the generation business by divesting its entire ownership interests in nuclear and fossil power plants.

l Additional information pertaining to the proposed transfer of BVPSl&2 and the qualifications l . of FENOC and Penn Power, including the information required under 10 CFR { 50.80, is l provided in the enclosed Application. FENOC and DLC believe that the information

! contained in the Application and its enclosures deaonstrates that: (1) FENOC will possess the requisite technical qualifications to operate BVPSl&2; (2) Penn Power will possess the j requisite financial qualifications to own DLC's current interests in BVPSl&2; (3) neither i

. FENOC nor Penn Power are owned, controlled, or dominated by an alien, foreign corporation l i

or foreign government; (4) the proposed transfer and conforming administrative amendments do not raise any significant safety issues; and (5) the proposed transfer does not require

antitrust review by the NRC. As discussed in greater detail in the Application, the proposed i transfer and conforming administrative amendments will involve certain organizational and i

administrative changes, but will not involve any_other change to BVPSl&2's current licensing basis. The proposed transfer will not involve any reduction in the commitments in its quality assurance plan, or any reduction in the effectiveness of the emergency and security plans for

- BVPSl&2.

In summary, the proposed transfer will be consistent with the requirements set forth in the Act, l NRC regulations, and the relevant NRC licenses and orders, and it will neither have any adverse impact on the public health and safety nor be inimical to the common defense and i security. FENOC, Penn Power and DLC respectfully request that the Commission consent to the transfer in accordance with 10 CFR Q 50.80 and approve the conforming administrative amendments pursuant to 10 CFR Q 50.92. FENOC, Penn Power and DLC request the NRC's

[  : prompt consent and approval in accordance with the Commission's Streamlined Hearing l Process for License Transfers set forth in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart M.

The DLC Nuclear Closing is dependent upon the receipt of all required regulatory approvals and will occur promptly after receipt of the necessary approvals. It is the parties' desire to close at the earliest practicable date following receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

Therefore, FENOC and DLC request that the NRC review this request on a schedule that will permit the issuance ofNRC consent to the license transfer, and approval of the conforming administrative license amendments, as promptly as possible, and in any event before

. September 30,1999. Such consent should be immediately effective upon issuance, and should consent to the transfer occurring at any time through September 30,2000, or such later date as may be permitted by the NRC. FENOC and DLC will keep the NRC informed if there are any

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H U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 5,1999 Page 4 significant changes in the status of the other required approvals or other developments that have an impact on this schedule.

Service upon the applicants of comments, hearing requests, intervention petitions, or other i

, pleadings, if applicable, should be made to the following:

1 Coimsel for FENOC:

Mary E. O'Reilly Roy P. Lessy FirstEnergy Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld, L.L.P.

76 South Main Street 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Suite 400 Akron, OH 44308 Washington, DC 200036 l 330-384-5224 202-887-4500 )

fax: 330-384-3875 fax: 202-887-4288 I E-Mail: meoreilly@firstenergycorp.com E-mail: riessy@akingump.com Coimmel for DLC:

l Larry R. Crayne _

John E. Matthews  !

Assistant General Counsel Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Duquesne Light Company 1800 M Street, NW 411 Seventh Avenue Washington, DC 20036-5869 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 202-467-7524 412-393-6049 fax: 202-467-7176 fax: 412-393-6645 E-mail: matt 7524@mlb.com E-mail: larry _r_crayne@dic.dge.com f

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 5,1999 Page 5 If NRC requires additional information concerning this license transfer request, please contact Mark S. Ackerman of BVPS at 412-393-5203.

Sincerely, JohnP. Stetz bW '

[M mes E. Cross President -- FENOC [ President--Generation Group FE Sr. Vice-President Chief Nuclear Officer FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Duquesne Light Company Encl. Application ec: Document Control Desk H.J. Miller, Administrator, Region I D.M. Kern Senior Resident Inspector D.S. Collins, Project Manager l

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