‌Annual NRC assessments issued to U.S. nuclear plants

The letters to 85 of the reactors note that they have made the NRC’s highest performance category for 2024 in safety and security. These reactors have been placed in the NRC’s “baseline” inspection program, which involves thousands of inspection hours for each reactor.

Next level: The remaining 9 reactors were placed in the second performance category for 2024 because of one or two items of low safety significance that need resolution.

For this performance level, regulatory oversight includes additional inspections and follow-up of corrective actions. Plants in this category are Browns Ferry-2, in Alabama; Calvert Cliffs-2, in Maryland; Catawba-2, in South Carolina; Columbia, in Washington; Fitzpatrick, in New York; Vogtle-3, in Georgia; Susquehanna-1 and -2, in Pennsylvania; and South Texas Project-2, in Texas.

The NRC noted that Fitzpatrick addressed its issues earlier this year and has returned to the baseline inspection program.

Zeroed out: No reactors were reported to be in the third or fourth performance categories, which trigger additional NRC oversight, or the fifth performance category, which requires a reactor to shut down to address its performance problems.

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

Note: The NRC’s website outlines oversight of commercial nuclear power on the Reactor Oversight Process page. The agency noted that it 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 website (click on “2024006” for each plant).