[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 95 (Monday, May 18, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28631-28633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09881]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44; NRC-2026-
1618]
In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company; El Paso Electric
Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 and
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Indirect Transfer of
Control of Licenses
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Order; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
order approving the indirect transfer of control of El Paso Electric
Company's possession-only non-operating interests in Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 for Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station (Palo Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3,
respectively, and the general license for the Palo Verde Independent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation. The indirect transfer of control would
result from the acquisition of an approximately 33.3 percent membership
interest in IIF US Holding 2 GP, LLC by a private individual subsequent
to the retirement and relinquishment of an approximately 33.3 percent
IIF US 2 GP, LLC membership interest held by a different private
individual. After the transaction, Arizona Public Service Company would
continue to own a 29.1 percent tenant-in-common interest and continue
to hold both operating and possession rights in the Palo Verde NRC
licenses.
DATES: The order was issued on May 5, 2026, and is effective for one
year.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-1618 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:
[[Page 28632]]
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-1618. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 ADAMS Public 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 order and the NRC staff safety evaluation
supporting the order are available in ADAMS under Package Accession No.
ML22003A102.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason J. Drake, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8378; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the order is attached.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.
Dated: May 14, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jason Drake,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Control of
Licenses.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company, El Paso Electric
Company, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3
and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44
License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74
Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Control of Licenses
I.
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is the licensed operator
and a licensed co-owner of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos.
NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
(Palo Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the general
license for the Palo Verde Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI). Palo Verde is located in Maricopa County,
Arizona. The other licensed co-owners (tenants-in-common), Salt
River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District; Southern
California Edison Company; El Paso Electric Company (EPE); Public
Service Company of New Mexico; Southern California Public Power
Authority; and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, hold
possession-only rights for these licenses (i.e., they are not
licensed to operate the facility).
II.
By application dated January 28, 2026 (Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML26029A458), EPE
requested, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) Sections 50.80, ``Transfer of licenses,'' and 72.50,
``Transfer of license,'' that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC, the Commission) consent to the indirect transfer of control of
the Palo Verde NRC licenses.
According to the application, EPE currently owns a 15.8 percent
tenant-in-common interest and holds possession-only rights in the
Palo Verde NRC licenses. The proposed indirect transfer of control
of EPE's possession-only non-operating interests in the Palo Verde
NRC licenses would result from the acquisition of an approximately
33.3 percent membership interest in IIF US Holding 2 GP, LLC (IIF US
2 GP), the general partner of IIF US Holding 2 LP, by a private
individual, Rudolph Wynter, a U.S. citizen, subsequent to the
retirement and relinquishment of an approximately 33.3 percent IIF
US 2 GP membership interest held by Chrisopher Ward, a U.S. citizen.
APS owns a 29.1 percent tenant-in-common interest and holds both
operating and possession rights in the Palo Verde NRC licenses.
Further, APS operates each of the Palo Verde units and the ISFSI
pursuant to the operating rights granted to it under the license of
each Palo Verde unit. The remaining tenant-in-common co-owners that
hold possession-only rights in the Palo Verde NRC licenses are: Salt
River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (25.423333
percent of Unit 1, 18.2833333 percent of Unit 2, and 17.49 percent
of Unit 3); Southern California Edison Company (15.8 percent of each
unit); Public Service Company of New Mexico (2.266667 percent of
Unit 1, 9.4066667 percent of Unit 2, and 10.2 percent of Unit 3);
Southern California Public Power Authority (5.91 percent of each
unit); and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (5.7 percent of
each unit).
According to the application, the proposed transaction would
involve the issuance of the approximately 33.3 percent interest in
IIF US 2 GP, which would be relinquished by Christopher Ward, to
Rudolph Wynter. As a result of the proposed transaction, Rudolph
Wynter would become an approximately 33.3 percent owner of IIF US 2
GP and indirect owner of EPE. The approximately 33.3 percent
interests of each of Rita J. Sallis and Anne Cleary in IIF US 2 GP
would be unaffected by the proposed transaction.
After the proposed transaction, APS would continue to own a 29.1
percent tenant-in-common interest and continue to hold both
operating and possession rights in the Palo Verde NRC licenses.
Further, APS would continue to operate each of the Palo Verde units
and the ISFSI pursuant to the operating rights granted to it under
the license of each Palo Verde unit. Also, as before the proposed
transaction, no entity would own 50 percent or more of the voting
interests. Accordingly, after the proposed transaction, there would
be no change in the control of the operation of Palo Verde; APS
would continue to make all technical decisions that do not require
approval from all owners of Palo Verde.
No physical changes or operational changes were proposed in the
application.
A notice of consideration of approval of the application and
opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to
intervene on the application was published in the Federal Register
(FR) on April 3, 2026 (91 FR 16990). The NRC did not receive any
comments or hearing requests on the application.
Under 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, no license for a production
or utilization facility or ISFSI, or any right thereunder, shall be
transferred, either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or
indirectly, through transfer of control of the license to any
person, unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. Upon
review of the information in the application, and other information
before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that the
proposed indirect transfer of control of EPE's possession-only non-
operating interests in the Palo Verde NRC licenses is acceptable.
The proposed transferee is qualified to be the indirect holder of
the licenses and the indirect transfer of the licenses is otherwise
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and
orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
The findings set forth above are supported by an NRC staff
safety evaluation dated the same date as this Order, which is
available at ADAMS Accession No. ML26105A790.
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i),
and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, it is hereby ordered
that the application regarding the proposed indirect transfer of
control is approved for Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3 and the Palo
Verde ISFSI.
It is further ordered that after receipt of all required
regulatory approvals of the proposed indirect transfer action, the
applicant shall inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation in writing of such receipt prior to the closing of
[[Page 28633]]
the indirect transfer. Should the proposed indirect transfer not be
completed within 1 year from the date of this Order, this Order
shall become null and void, provided, however, that upon written
application and for good cause shown, such date may be extended by
order.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the
application dated January 28, 2026, and the NRC staff safety
evaluation dated the same date as this Order, which are available
for public inspection electronically through ADAMS in the NRC
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems accessing the
documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC Public Document
Room (PDR) reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-
415-4737 or by email to [email protected].
Dated: May 5, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Aida Rivera-Varona,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2026-09881 Filed 5-15-26; 8:45 am]
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