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Oconee Nuclear Station Deemed Y2K Safe by Regulators
South Carolina is one of the six states that nuclear power is a must for more than 50 percent of its electricity. Looking toward the Year 2000, the Oconee Nuclear Station is hoping that a plant shutdown would be the worst that they would experience. But on the other hand, they say that this is unlikely. According to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there is no significant existing problems with their safety-related systems. If some kind of problem were to come up in the station, all of the plants could be shut down as of January 1, 2000. However, all seven of the nuclear stations having a systems shutdown is highly remote, even though normal business operations give them the ability to maintain electrical service in the event of a shutdown. Due to the so called "Y2K bug", the NRC has picked the Oconee Nuclear Station as one of six in the country for contingency audits. This decision is based on the location, design, electrical grid and age of the station. This audit will examine how their computers will read the "00" for 2000 as 1900 and how the plant plans to deal with the problem. Isolated inconveniences are what computer experts say will be most of the problems. Others, on the other hand, fear of a global economic meltdown, a collapse of the nation's power, and food shortages. Even though the NRC has required a Y2K readiness confirmation by July 1, 1999, nuclear plants safety systems are analog, not digital, and are not likely to blow a fuse. If something goes wrong with that station, they are hard-wired to noncomputerized sensors to activate immediately. According to Y2K Project Office spokeswoman Ann Sheffield, Duke Energy has been working on a Y2K project for all its companies since 1996.
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