Nieh is joining the NRC in the midst of a significant overhaul, motivated in part by one of President Trump’s nuclear-focused executive orders issued in May. At the recent American Nuclear Society Winter Conference & Expo, Chair Wright spoke directly on the coming changes, saying, “This is the new NRC; the old NRC is gone. We’re going to have to look now coming out the other side to be the type of agency that the NRC needs to be for the future.”
Still, Wright assured that the NRC will maintain its independence despite concerns of executive overreach from the Trump administration. Nieh also committed to maintaining the independence of the NRC during his hearing with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in October.
At that hearing, he said, “If confirmed, I will 100 percent stay committed to the independent safety mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that all the decisions NRC makes are, in fact, made independently with the right technical input.”
Nieh’s experience: Nieh has been the vice president of regulatory affairs at Southern Nuclear since 2021, though at the time of his confirmation he had been working as a loaned executive at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations for more than a year.
Nieh started his career at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, where he worked primarily as a nuclear plant engineer and contributed as a civilian instructor in the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Program.
He joined the NRC in 1997 as a project engineer. In more than 19 years at the organization, he served in a variety of key leadership roles, including division director of Reactor Projects, division director of Inspection and Regional Support, and director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Nieh took leave from the NRC twice to pursue international positions in the world of nuclear regulation. In 2008, he joined the International Atomic Energy Agency as a communication advisor, where he supported the International Nuclear Safety Group. In 2015, he joined the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency as the head of the Nuclear Safety Technology and Regulation Division.
Testimonials: A Southern Nuclear spokesperson told Nuclear Newswire that Nieh’s “depth of experience, relationships, and understanding of nuclear power uniquely position him to continue the critical work needed to advance risk-informed modernization and ensure nuclear power’s future role supporting energy dominance.”
From 2010 to 2012, Nieh served as the chief of staff in the office of former NRC commissioner William Ostendorff. Speaking on Nieh’s nomination, Ostendorff told Nuclear News, “Ho directly led my team and worked collegially with the NRC staff on numerous high-visibility issues, including high-level waste, design certification of the AP1000, [combined operating licenses] for Vogtle and Summer, and the post-Fukushima regulatory reviews, just to name a few. Throughout, Ho demonstrated not only superior technical expertise and exceptional communications but most importantly how to build a cohesive team and the ability to work with others who did not necessarily agree with you . . . . I can think of no better choice than Ho Nieh.”
