[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 20 (Friday, January 31, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8655-8656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02065]



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Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 20 / Friday, January 31, 2025 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 8655]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 50 and 52

[NRC-2024-0140]


Regulatory Guides: Criteria for Power Systems for Nuclear Power 
Plants and Criteria for the Protection of Class 1E Power Systems and 
Equipment for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 4 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.32, ``Criteria for Power Systems 
for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and new RG 1.238, ``Criteria for the 
Protection of Class 1E Power Systems and Equipment for Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' RG 1.32, Revision 4, describes an acceptable approach for use 
in complying with NRC regulations for the design, operation, and 
testing of electric power systems in nuclear power plants. RG 1.238 
describes an acceptable approach for use in complying with NRC 
regulations for protection of Class 1E power systems and equipment at 
nuclear power plants. The NRC is also withdrawing RG 1.41, 
``Preoperational Testing of Redundant On-Site Electric Power Systems to 
Verify Proper Load Group Assignments,'' since its guidance is 
incorporated into RG 1.32, Revision 4.

DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.32 and Revision 0 to RG 1.238 are available 
on January 31, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0140 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0140. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the 
first time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
    Revision 4 to RG 1.32 and the regulatory analysis may be found in 
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML24306A036 and ML24158A062; and RG 1.238 
and its regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under ML24306A049 and 
ML24158A042, respectively. The basis for withdrawal of RG 1.41 may be 
found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML24306A039.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Eudy, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3104; email: 
[email protected], Mohammad Sadollah, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, telephone: 301-415-6804; email: [email protected], 
and Sheila Ray, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone 301-
415-3653; email: [email protected]. All are staff of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing a revision and a new RG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe 
methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific 
parts of the agency's regulations, to explain techniques that the staff 
use in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to describe 
information that the staff needs in its review of applications for 
permits and licenses.
    The proposed Revision 4 to RG 1.32 was issued with a temporary 
identification of Draft Regulatory Guide (DG), DG-1420; and the 
proposed new RG 1.238 was issued with a temporary identification of DG-
1354.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1420 and DG-
1354 in the Federal Register on August 28, 2024 (89 FR 68787), for a 
30-day public comment period. The public comment period closed on 
September 27, 2024. Public comments and the NRC staff's responses to 
the public comments on DG-1420 and DG-1354 are available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML24306A053.
    RG 1.32, Revision 4, describes an approach that is acceptable to 
the NRC staff to meet regulatory requirements for the design, 
operation, and testing of electric power systems in nuclear power 
plants. Subject to the conditions described in Section C of the RG, it 
endorses the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 
Standard (Std.) 308-2020, ``IEEE Standard Criteria for Class 1E Power 
Systems for Nuclear Power Generating Stations.'' In addition, RG 1.32, 
Revision 4 includes the guidance provisions of RG 1.41, 
``Preoperational Testing of Redundant On-Site Electric Power Systems to 
Verify Proper Load Group Assignments,'' which describes methods 
acceptable to the NRC staff for independence among redundant, onsite 
power sources and their load groups as part of the initial 
preoperational testing program and after major modifications or 
repairs. The staff is withdrawing RG 1.41 because its guidance has been 
incorporated into RG 1.32, Revision 4.
    RG 1.238 describes an approach that is acceptable to the NRC staff 
for use in complying with NRC regulations that addresses the protection 
of Class 1E

[[Page 8656]]

power systems and equipment at nuclear power plants. Subject to the 
conditions described in Section C of the RG, it endorses, IEEE Std. 
741-2022, ``IEEE Standard for Criteria for the Protection of Class 1E 
Power Systems and Equipment for Nuclear Power Generating Stations.''
    As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671), 
this document is being published in the ``Rules'' section of the 
Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under chapter 
I of title 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not 
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    The issuance of Revision 4 to RG 1.32 and RG 1.238 do not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' 
and as described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.4, ``Management of 
Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information 
Requests''; affect issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR 
part 52, ``Licenses, Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power 
Plants''; or constitute forward fitting as defined in MD 8.4, because, 
as explained in these RGs, licensees would not be required to comply 
with the positions set forth in these RGs.

V. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

    A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the 
NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs. 
Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. 
Suggestions will be considered in future updates and enhancements to 
the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.

    Dated: January 28, 2025.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2025-02065 Filed 1-30-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P