8-KOther Events

FIRSTENERGY CORP 8-K Report (Mar 13, 2002)

Filed March 13, 2002For Securities:FE

Summary

This Form 8-K filing from FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), dated March 13, 2002, reports on an unexpected extension of the scheduled refueling outage at its Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. During routine inspections of control rod drive mechanism penetration nozzles, corrosion was discovered in the reactor vessel head, attributed to boric acid deposits. This finding will necessitate additional repairs beyond the initial scope of the outage. The discovery of corrosion is expected to extend the Davis-Besse outage by 60 to 90 days beyond its original late March return-to-service date. This extended outage will incur additional nuclear-related operating and maintenance costs estimated at $5-10 million and could lead to increased energy costs between $10 million to $15 million per month due to lost generation. Consequently, FirstEnergy anticipates a reduction in its after-tax earnings per share by $0.05 to $0.10 in the first half of 2002.

Key Highlights

  • 1Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station outage extended by 60-90 days due to corrosion discovery.
  • 2Corrosion found in the reactor vessel head, apparently caused by boric acid deposits.
  • 3Five control rod drive mechanism penetration nozzles will require repair.
  • 4Additional nuclear O&M costs estimated at $5-10 million.
  • 5Potential increased energy costs of $10-15 million per month due to lost generation.
  • 6Expected reduction in FirstEnergy's after-tax earnings of $0.05 to $0.10 per share in H1 2002.
  • 7The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is inspecting the corrosion.

Frequently Asked Questions

The outage at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station was extended due to the discovery of corrosion in the reactor vessel head, near a penetration nozzle, which was apparently created by boric acid deposits. This was found during routine inspections that were part of the scheduled refueling outage.

FirstEnergy expects additional nuclear-related operation and maintenance costs of approximately $5-10 million. Furthermore, the loss of generation output could increase energy costs by $10 million to $15 million per month. Overall, the outage extension and repairs could reduce FirstEnergy's after-tax earnings by $0.05 to $0.10 per share during the first half of 2002.

The plant was originally scheduled to return to service by the end of March. The company now expects the outage to be extended by 60 to 90 days, although the exact length has not yet been determined.

The Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is jointly owned by two FirstEnergy subsidiaries: The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (51.38% ownership) and The Toledo Edison Company (48.62% ownership).