Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Response to the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee Eighteenth Annual Report on the Safety of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Operations - July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008

We are pleased to comment on the 2008 Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee’s (DCISC) Annual Report, which covers the period of July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. Under the Diablo Canyon ratemaking settlement agreement, the DCISC is required to submit an annual report to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The DCISC Annual Report was received by PG&E on October 28, 2008, and our response is in accordance with the agreement that allows for a written response from PG&E within 45 days. The DCISC Annual Report will then be submitted, along with PG&E’s comments, to the Governor, the Attorney General, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Energy Commission.

We are pleased that the DCISC has once again concluded that PG&E has operated the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) safely during the report period. We have reviewed the DCISC Annual Report conclusions, concerns, and recommendations, and are continuing to take actions that address them as discussed below.

Recommendations:

R08-1
The emergency response organization (ERO) should consider designing a drill that focuses on the information exchange with the news media. The event chosen could be less serious than those designed to challenge the operators. It could involve a low level of risk to the surrounding population, and require the Joint Media Center (JMC) personnel to communicate this effectively to the media.
In 2008, Diablo Canyon Power Plant did two things to address media interface issues in the JMC. The first activity was a dress rehearsal drill in advance of the graded emergency exercise. The dress rehearsal permitted JMC personnel to perform in a realistic media interface environment. The second activity was structured training for a subset of JMC personnel responsible for interfacing with the media, including those personnel scheduled for the graded emergency exercise. This training was conducted using a media consultant. There was a classroom phase where fundamental practices for successful media interface were presented. The classroom session was followed by practical exercises where the JMC personnel conducted mock media briefings using drill scenarios from a previous drill. The briefings were videotaped and critiqued by Emergency Planning (EP) personnel and the media consultant. This training session produced measurable improvement in performance during the graded emergency exercise. It is the intent of the EP organization to perform this same training for the remaining JMC personnel expected to interface with the media in 2009. Additionally, an evaluation will be performed to determine if such training should be included in the recurring training program.
JMC personnel did increase their media interaction in the most recent drill. The ERO organization will continue to explore ways in which the exchange of information presented to the media is more effective.

For more information about DCISC contact:

Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee
Office of the Legal Counsel
857 Cass Street, Suite D, Monterey, California 93940
Telephone: in Califonia call 800-439-4688; outside of California call 831-647-1044
Send E-mail to: dcsafety@dcisc.org