[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            NUCLEAR ENERGY: A PROVEN, RELIABLE ENERGY SOURCE

                                 ______


                          HON. NORMAN SISISKY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 1994

  Mr. SISISKY. Mr. Speaker, as the coldest, iciest weather this century 
clutched much of the United States, nuclear energy rose to the 
challenge, producing electricity to warm homes and keep businesses 
open. I want to bring this to the attention of my colleagues, 
especially with regard to Virginia Power.
  In Virginia, nuclear energy provides more than 47 percent of my 
State's electricity. During the record cold spell, Virginia Power had 
three nuclear units operating at 100 percent while Surry Unit 1 was at 
57 percent power in anticipation of a scheduled refueling outage. 
Because Virginia Power's nonutility sources of electricity were 
experiencing weather-related problems and only two-thirds of that 
electricity was available, nuclear energy was integral to keeping 
essential businesses running and citizens warm during this crisis.
  ``We depend upon nuclear energy to be our baseload generation,'' said 
Virginia Power's Jim Norvelle. ``Virginia Power's nuclear units ran 
superbly well. That also speaks to the people who operate those units. 
It was cold for them too, and they had families and kids home from 
school, but they made sure those units kept operating to ensure 
everyone had the electricity they needed. We had a lot of things to 
worry about Wednesday morning, but the reliability of nuclear units was 
not one of them.''
  The same ice storm crippled fossil fuel stations, paralyzed oil 
barges in rivers, turned coal piles into impenetrable solid masses of 
ice, and made gas a scarce and unavailable commodity. Fortunately for 
the public safety, nuclear power stations around the region were up and 
running providing the necessary electricity throughout the storm. 
Because of this, we avoided a major crash in the energy supply system 
that would have been unavoidably catastrophic.
  Mr. Speaker, the many local and hard-working employees in all areas 
of the Nation's energy industry are to be commended for their heroic 
efforts during the recent winter storm emergency. I hope my colleagues 
will keep this episode in mind as we made decisions in the days ahead 
which will determine the long-term viability of nuclear energy, one of 
the Nation's proven, reliable energy sources.

                          ____________________