NPPD, Entergy end service contract for Cooper Nuclear Station

COLUMBUS, Neb. – Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and Entergy have mutually agreed to end their Support Services Agreement regarding NPPD’s Cooper Nuclear Station. This agreement has been in place since late 2003. While Entergy provided certain personnel for the plant (currently there are five Entergy employees at Cooper Nuclear Station) along with other support services as part of the arrangement, NPPD has maintained ownership of and responsibility for the safe and reliable operations of the plant. NPPD plans to continue operating Cooper Nuclear Station and will utilize Entergy and other available industry resources, as appropriate.

Cooper Nuclear Station is an important part of NPPD’s generation mix. It is NPPD’s largest generating unit and the largest single source of carbon-free generation in the state. The station, which began commercial operations in 1974, has the capacity to serve approximately half of the annual energy requirements for NPPD’s retail and wholesale customers with reliable and carbon-free electricity. It employs a little more than 600 individuals and has a significant economic impact on Southeast Nebraska.

Over the past several years, Entergy has been exiting its merchant fleet nuclear operations in the Northeast United States and elsewhere to focus on the nuclear plants in its regulated utility business operations in the Southern United States. Cooper Nuclear Station was the last plant outside of Entergy’s regulated utility business for which Entergy had contractual obligations.

“This was a mutual decision and is in the best interests of both utilities,” according to a joint statement from Tom Kent, NPPD’s President and CEO and Christopher “Chris” Bakken, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Entergy Nuclear. “NPPD has had an excellent relationship with Entergy. Its people and processes have played a key role in helping Cooper Nuclear Station achieve improved performance. Over the past two decades, we have built up a tremendous amount of experience and skill within our ranks. We have reached a point where we can meet the high expectations for excellence in the commercial nuclear industry with our team at Cooper Nuclear Station, and as is common in the industry, we can also use supplemental assistance from others in the nuclear industry as needed,” Kent said.

Cooper Nuclear Station reliably provides carbon-free electricity around the clock for two-year periods between refueling outages. The plant is currently licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate until early 2034. Over the next few years, NPPD will begin discussing the opportunity to pursue a second license renewal which would extend the operating license an additional twenty years.