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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011
	CONTACT:	Breck Henderson (817) 860-8128/e-mail: bwh@nrc.gov

RIV: 97-40

July 14, 1997

Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, a nuclear power plant near Glen Rose, Texas, has received performance ratings of "superior" in all four functional areas rated in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's latest systematic assessment of licensee performance (SALP) for the facility.

The SALP report was sent July 7 to TU Electric, which operates the plant. The report evaluates the plant's performance from November 25, 1995, through June 7 of this year.

NRC and TU Electric officials will discuss the report during a meeting set for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30, in the Comanche Peak Personnel Processing Center. The meeting will be open to public observation. NRC officials will be available afterwards to speak with reporters, state and local officials, and members of the public.

NRC systematic assessment reports rate licensees in four functional areas -- plant operations, maintenance, engineering, and plant support -- and assigns ratings of Category 1, 2, or 3 depending on whether performance in those areas was superior, good or acceptable. Comanche Peak was given the following scores on the current SALP and previous SALP in 1995:

Functional areas & ratings

Plant Operations 1(Current) 1(Previous)

Maintenance 1(Current) 1(Previous)

Engineering 1(Current) 2(Previous)

Plant Support 1(Current) 1(Previous)

In his cover letter to the report, NRC Regional Administrator Ellis W. Merschoff noted that performance in engineering had improved. This was evident in a strong trend in improving plant material conditions and in the reduction of plant reliability challenges. Safety assessment and quality verification activities continued to be a strength, Mr. Merschoff noted, emphasizing that strong self-assessments had made a large contribution to the superior safety performance at the plant.

As a result of this overall superior safety performance the next SALP period will be 24 months instead of the normal 18 months. Also, the amount of NRC inspection at the plant will be reduced.