[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71656-71657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34438]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-254 and 50-265]
Commonwealth Edison Company and Midamerican Energy Company (Quad
Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2); Order Approving
Application Regarding Proposed Merger of Midamerican Energy Holdings
Company With Calenergy Company
I
MidAmerican Energy Company (MEC) owns a 25-percent interest in Quad
Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2. Commonwealth Edison
Company (ComEd) owns the remaining 75-percent share of the facilities.
MEC and ComEd hold Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30
issued by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission pursuant to Part 50 of
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50) on
December 14, 1972. Under these licenses, only ComEd, acting for itself
and as agent and representative of MEC has the authority to operate the
Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2. Quad Cities is
located in Rock Island County, Illinois.
II
By application accompanied by cover letters dated September 10,
1998, from CalEnergy Company, Inc. (CalEnergy) and MEC, through counsel
Roy P. Lessy, Jr., and from ComEd, MEC and CalEnergy informed the
Commission of a proposed merger of CalEnergy with MidAmerican Energy
Holdings Company (MEHC), the parent of MEC, which would effectively
result in CalEnergy becoming the parent corporation and sole owner of
MEHC. MEHC would continue to be the parent of MEC. MEC would continue
to remain a 25-percent minority owner and possession-only licensee of
the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, and would remain
an ``electric utility'' as defined in 10 CFR 50.2, engaged in the
generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy for
wholesale and retail, according to the application. The application was
supplemented by letters dated September 16 and November 20, 1998, and
attachments thereto, from counsel for the applicants. MEC and CalEnergy
requested the Commission's approval of the indirect license transfers
to CalEnergy to the extent effected by the proposed corporate merger,
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. Notice of this request for approval was
published in the Federal Register on October 27, 1998 (63 FR 57324).
Upon review of the information submitted in the application,
including the supplemental information provided by the applicants, and
other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined
that the proposed merger will not affect the qualifications of MEC as a
holder of the license, and that the transfer of control of the
licenses, to the extent effected by the proposed merger is otherwise
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders
issued by the Commission subject to the conditions set forth herein.
These findings are supported by a Safety Evaluation dated December 22,
1998.
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2201(b),
2201(i), 2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that
the Commission approves the application regarding the proposed merger
of MEHC with CalEnergy, subject to the following: (1) MEC shall provide
the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation a copy of any
application, at the time it is filed, to transfer (excluding grants of
security interests or liens) from MEC to its parent or to any other
affiliated company, facilities for the production, transmission, or
distribution of electric energy having a depreciated book value
exceeding ten percent (10%) of MEC's consolidated net utility plant, as
recorded on MEC's books of account, and (2) should the merger of
CalEnergy and MEHC not be completed by December 31, 1999, this Order
shall become null and void, provided, however, on application and for
good cause shown, such date may be extended.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
[[Page 71657]]
IV
By January 19, 1999, any person whose interest may be affected by
this Order may file in accordance with the Commission's rules of
practice set forth in subpart M of 10 CFR Part 2, a request for a
hearing and petition for leave to intervene with respect to issuance of
the Order. Such requests and petitions must comply with the
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.1306, and should address the
considerations contained in 10 CFR 2.1308(a). Untimely requests and
petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.1308(b), unless good
cause for failure to file on time is established. In addition, an
untimely request or petition should address the factors that the
Commission will also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or
petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 2.1308(b)(1)-(2).
Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should
be served upon Michael I. Miller, Esquire, Sidley and Austin, One First
National Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60603, attorney for ComEd; Roy P.
Lessy, Jr., Akin, Gump, Straus, Hauer, & Feld, L.L.P., 1333 New
Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, attorney for
CalEnergy and MEC; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555; and the Secretary of the
Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-
001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance with
10 CFR 2.1313.
The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and
served on the parties to the hearing.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the application
for consent concerning the proposed corporate merger of CalEnergy and
MEHC submitted under cover letters dated September 10, 1998, and
supplemental information submitted under cover letters dated September
16 and November 20, 1998, and the safety evaluation dated December 22,
1998, which are available for public inspection at the Commission's
Public Document Room, The Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,
Washington, DC, and at the local public document room located at the
Dixon Public Library, 221 Hennipen Avenue, Dixon, Illinois.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd day of December 1998.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-34438 Filed 12-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P