After the merger closed on July 2, the North Carolina Utilities Commission initiated an investigation into why Progress Energy Chairman, President and CEO Bill Johnson, who had been expected to lead the combined company's day-to-day operations, was ousted almost immediately as Duke's "new" president and CEO.

Duke Chairman, President and CEO Jim Rogers told the commission on July 10 that Duke board members had become concerned about how Johnson was handling the proposed Crystal River repair option, and were wary of his lack of communication about the project.

Duke engaged Zapata, the consultant's report said, "to conduct an independent, third-party review of the engineering and construction plan developed by Progress and URS." Zapata's analysis, conducted this past spring and summer, raised concerns about "the repair design's ability to withstand radial tension beyond what is anticipated," as well as how the containment building's dome would respond to the work going on beneath it.

"If damage were to occur to the dome during bay repair, it may expose the project to additional licensing risk and [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC] scrutiny," the report stated. If the dome needs repair, "it may become necessary to replace it in order to obtain NRC approval. Dome replacement carries with it very high costs and schedule implications."

The Zapata report also stated that concrete not identified for replacement "may be subject to stresses during construction that could cause cracking or delamination." Also, conditional assessments to date "may not have revealed all the damage that exists in the structure" and that the proposed rebuilding project would face challenges due to the very tight work area.

No Final Decision Yet

Alex Glenn, Progress Energy Florida's incoming president, said the Zapata report "confirmed... that an increase in the scope of repairs will increase the cost and extend the schedule." He said PEF has not made a final decision on whether to repair or retire CR-3. The utility would proceed with a repair option, Glenn added, "only if there is a high degree of confidence the repair can be successfully completed and licensed within the final estimated costs and schedule."

Sara Barczak, director of the high-risk energy-choices program at the Koxville, Tenn.-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, called CR-3 "a Humpty-Dumpty reactor" and said that, in addition to concern about mounting repair costs, SACE would have "serious safety concerns" if CR-3 is rebuilt and restarted.

"There's a big difference between technically feasible and operating safely," Barczak noting, saying her group has questions about the containment building's structural integrity and ability to contain radioactive releases.