The assessment period concluded on 30 June, with 97 of the 104 plants in the
two highest performance categories.
There are five levels of plant performance based on a detailed assessment of inspection findings and performance indicators, which include safety system availability and reliability, control of radiation exposure and unplanned shutdowns).
Levels range from ‘meeting all safety cornerstone objectives’ (highest level) to ‘unacceptable performance’ (lowest level).
If a nuclear power plant’s performance declines, the NRC increases the level of
inspection and oversight to ensure the plant operator is taking the steps necessary to correct the situation.
The additional amount of inspection is commensurate with the level of plant performance.
The latest round of assessments shows that 85 of the plants were performing at the highest level require normal NRC inspection and oversight.
Twelve plants were performing at the next highest level, needing to resolve items of low to moderate safety significance and receive additional NRC inspection and attention to follow up on corrective actions.
Seven plants were performing at the third level of performance with one degraded safety cornerstone, needing even more NRC inspections, senior management attention, and oversight focused on the cause of the degraded performance.
