Washington (Platts)--1Feb2013/341 pm EST/2041 GMT

Exelon employees "deliberately provided incomplete and inaccurate information" on decommissioning cost estimates for its nuclear plants to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission over a four-year period in "apparent violation" of agency rules, NRC said Thursday in a letter to the company.

NRC's Office of Investigations concluded after an investigation it began in September 2010 that Exelon had provided the agency with decommissioning cost estimates for its 17-unit nuclear power fleet -- the country's largest --PSEG Nuclear's Salem-1 and -2 -- which Exelon partly owns -- and for four permanently shut reactors that were below the minimum amount regulations required, the agency said.

NRC said its regulations allow licensees to use various methods to estimate the decommissioning cost for a nuclear power plant, but such an estimate must not be lower than the estimate that would be derived using the agency's formula.

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"Based upon the evidence developed, the OI investigation did substantiate that a senior Exelon executive and an Exelon manager appear to have deliberately provided incomplete and inaccurate information to the NRC" in the company's decommissioning funding reports in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, NRC said.

"Exelon submitted estimates that were not calculated in accordance with the regulations, yet represented and certified that the estimates were calculated in accordance with the regulations. Therefore, Exelon appears to be in violation of 10 CFR 50.9, regarding completeness and accuracy of information," the agency said.

The apparent violation is being considered for escalated enforcement, which can include fines, it said.

NRC asked Exelon to participate in a pre-decisional enforcement conference within 30 days "to provide its perspective on the apparent violation and any other information that Exelon believes the NRC should take into consideration before making an enforcement decision."

The NRC investigation report has not been made public. The agency's letter did not provide figures for any of the cost estimates in question.

Exelon spokeswoman Krista Lopykinski said late Thursday in an email that "Exelon Generation reported information on decommissioning funding status to the NRC based on Exelon's understanding of the regulations. For each year of the reports at issue, the NRC reviewed the information provided by Exelon and either had no issue or made additional requests with which Exelon complied."

Exelon "did not engage in deliberate misconduct and the individuals described in the report did not intentionally violate regulatory requirements. Exelon Generation has acted in good faith in providing information -- including decommissioning funding information -- to the NRC," Lopykinski said.

"At no time was Exelon unable to meet its decommissioning funding requirements," she said.

--Steven Dolley, steven_dolley@platts.com
--Edited by Valarie Jackson, valarie_jackson@platts.com

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