Reacting to Oil Spill: PSEG Nuclear Announces Plans to Shut Salem Units I and II
03 December 2004 - 9:09AM
PR Newswire (US)
Reacting to Oil Spill: PSEG Nuclear Announces Plans to Shut Salem
Units I and II LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK, N.J., Dec. 2
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PSEG Nuclear today announced that based
on Delaware River conditions and the potential for oil from the
Athos I oil tanker spill, to reach its nuclear plant water intake
structures, it has decided to take both units at the Salem Nuclear
Generating Station offline. PSEG Nuclear currently plans to begin
reducing power on both Salem Units on Friday. PSEG Nuclear is
continually monitoring river conditions, and these plans are
subject to change. "Our first ground rule is to 'Be Safe,' and this
is the right thing to do to ensure the safety of the stations,"
said A. Christopher Bakken, PSEG Nuclear president and chief
nuclear officer. "We anticipate seeing heavier oil in the next
couple of days. Rather than wait, we are taking the right actions
to have the plant in a safe, cooled condition. We will stay
shutdown as long as necessary." Today, PSEG Nuclear began placing
booms around the water intake structures at both Salem and Hope
Creek nuclear generating stations. The boom is a barrier placed
approximately 18 inches deep in the water and is relatively
effective in controlling the spread of oil that is lying on top or
close to the surface. However, since the oil spilled in the
Delaware was crude oil, it is expected that heavier globs of oil
might be suspended in the river at varying depths, rendering the
booms less effective. PSEG Nuclear is tracking costs the Company
may incur associated with the oil spill with full expectation of
recovery of those costs from responsible parties. FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENT Readers are cautioned that statements contained in this
press release about our and our subsidiaries' future performance,
including future revenues, earnings, strategies, prospects and all
other statements that are not purely historical, are
forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor
provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Although we believe that our expectations are based on
reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance they will be
achieved. The results or events predicted in these statements may
differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which
could cause results or events to differ from current expectations
include, among other things: the effects of weather; the
performance of generating units and transmission systems; the
availability and prices for oil, gas, coal, nuclear fuel, capacity
and electricity; changes in the markets for electricity and other
energy-related commodities; changes in the number of participants
and the risk profile of such participants in the energy marketing
and trading business; the effectiveness of our risk management and
internal controls systems; the effects of regulatory decisions and
changes in law; changes in competition in the markets we serve; the
ability to recover regulatory assets and other potential stranded
costs; the outcomes of litigation and regulatory proceedings or
inquiries; the timing and success of efforts to develop domestic
and international power projects; conditions of the capital markets
and equity markets; advances in technology; changes in accounting
standards; changes in interest rates and in financial and foreign
currency markets generally; the economic and political climate and
growth in the areas in which we conduct our activities; and changes
in corporate strategies. For further information, please refer to
our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q
and Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These documents address in further detail our business, industry
issues and other factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated in this release. In addition, any
forward-looking statements included herein represent our estimates
only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our
estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update
forward-looking statements from time to time, we specifically
disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change,
unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws.
DATASOURCE: Public Service Enterprise Group CONTACT: Skip Sindoni,
+1-856-339-1111 Web site: http://www.pseg.com/
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