PPL Susquehanna fully supports the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to send a team to the Luzerne County plant to assess PPL's efforts to determine the underlying cause of loose bolts on diesel generators at the facility.

Herbert D. Woodeshick, PPL's special assistant to the president for Susquehanna, said the company is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the problems.

"We will fully support the NRC in this investigation and evaluate fully any recommendations made by the inspection team," Woodeshick said. Both units at the Susquehanna plant continue to produce electricity, and all systems remained operable. "We are confident that the diesels would have performed their design function, but our commitment to identifying and correcting problems is an essential component of our operating philosophy at Susquehanna."

Diesels provide the plant's backup electricity supply. During testing Jan. 25 of one of five diesel generators at the plant, a PPL crew noticed a slight vibration and a small amount of oil leakage. Further examination revealed loose bolts on a bracket supporting the generator's governor, which controls the generator's speed. The crew tightened the bolts, inspected the rest of the generator's components and successfully conducted another equipment test.

Woodeshick said the discovery of the problem led to expanded action. "When equipment is not operating properly, Susquehanna's standard assessment process is to inspect similar equipment for similar problems and to determine the cause," he said. "The crew immediately inspected similar bolts on the remaining four generators and found no problems."

The NRC announced Monday (2/9) that it is sending a team to the site.

The NRC team also is investigating two other events involving the diesel generators at the plant. In March 2003, a bolt on equipment that controls one diesel generator's fuel supply fell off during routine testing. On Jan. 30, 2004, PPL found a loose flange on one generator's water supply line.

The Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna.

PPL Susquehanna is one of PPL Corporation's generating facilities. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls about 11,500 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.