NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation's Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 23-019 March 3, 2023
CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200 

NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation’s Nuclear Power Plants

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued annual letters to the nation’s operating commercial nuclear reactors assessing their 2022 performance.

 

Of the 93 reactors currently in the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process, 87 reached the highest performance category in safety and security. Those reactors (including Vogtle Unit 3, which was authorized for operation last year) remain under the NRC’s “baseline” inspection program, involving thousands of inspection hours for each reactor.

 

Six reactors were in the second performance category, as they need to resolve one or two items of low safety significance. For this performance level, regulatory oversight includes additional inspection and follow-up of corrective actions. Plants in this category are Calvert Cliffs 1 (Maryland), Davis-Besse (Ohio), Peach Bottom 2 (Pennsylvania), Quad Cities 2 (Illinois), V.C. Summer (South Carolina) and Waterford (Louisiana).

 

There were no reactors in the third and fourth performance categories.

 

Later this spring and summer, the NRC will host a public meeting or other event for each plant to discuss the annual assessment results. A separate announcement will be issued for each public assessment meeting. In addition to the annual assessment letters, plants also receive an NRC inspection plan for the coming year.

 

The NRC’s website outlines oversight of commercial nuclear power on the Reactor Oversight Process page. The NRC routinely updates each plant’s current performance and posts the latest information as it becomes available to the action matrix summary. Assessment letters are posted on the NRC website (click on “2022006” for each plant). Annual construction oversight assessments for new reactors at the Vogtle units 3 and 4 sites are also on the NRC website.

23-019.pdf