EXHIBIT 99.(a)
Florida Progress Corporation
Investor News
Analyst Contacts:
Mark A. Myers (813) 866-4245
Greg Beuris (813) 866-4442
[CORPORATE LOGO OMITTED]
Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River Nuclear Plant Update
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, June 18, 1997 -- Florida Power Corporation's Crystal
River nuclear plant has been down since September 2, 1996 to address design
issues involving the unit's engineered safeguards system.
Florida Power expects to return the unit to service by the end of 1997. The
restart plan reflects commitments made by Florida Power to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding issues to be resolved prior to returning
the unit to service. Attached is a schedule that provides additional information
concerning key restart activities.
Florida Power has committed to resolving eight design issues, many of which
involve physical modifications to the plant and, in some cases, amendments to
its license. The attached schedule lists the eight design issues and the
expected time periods in which the field work will be done along with targeted
dates for restart submittals to the NRC. During the next several months, Florida
Power will be filing restart submittals with the NRC.
The expected critical path of the current restart plan remains the upgrades to
the emergency feedwater system and the emergency diesel generators. Some of the
modifications completed thus far include increasing load capacity to both diesel
generators, and modifications to the emergency feedwater system and high
pressure injection system. These modifications are part of the work necessary to
resolve the diesel loading issue and related emergency feedwater system issues.
Florida Power's "System Readiness & Review Program" was established to assess
"extent of condition." Level 2 reviews are approximately 60 percent complete and
Level 3 reviews have just begun. The attached schedule indicates that the
discovery phase of this activity should conclude in July. As a result of these
reviews, Florida Power has identified various issues, some of which must be
addressed prior to restarting the plant.
Starting in July, Florida Power expects to begin the "System Lineups, Heatup and
Testing" phase of the restart plan. During this phase, various systems will be
reviewed and checked to evaluate their condition. Also during this phase,
Florida Power will be developing its "Startup and Power Ascension Plan." This
plan, scheduled for implementation in December, will focus on managing a
comprehensive controlled startup of the plant.
Other significant restart activities include full inspection of the unit's steam
generator tubes. The purpose of the inspection is to identify and repair tube
degradation. This task began June 9 and will involve contractors from Framatome,
which designed the steam generators, as well as Florida Power personnel. The
project is expected to be complete by mid-July.
-- more --
Throughout the restart effort, NRC inspectors will be performing various
inspections in the operations, maintenance, engineering and plant support areas.
In addition to these inspections, Florida Power will notify the NRC when it is
ready for final inspections including an inspection performed by the NRC's
"Operational Readiness Assessment Team." These inspections have not been
scheduled at this time.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: this news release contains forward looking statements, including
statements regarding the restart of the nuclear plant by the end of 1997. These
statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or
outcomes to differ materially from expectations. Key factors that could have a
direct impact on actual results include successful execution of the restart
plan, actions of regulatory bodies, potential new plant modifications not
foreseen at this time which extend the outage beyond 1997 and other factors
described in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Florida Progress (NYSE:FPC) is a Fortune 500 diversified utility holding company
with assets of $5.5 billion. Its principal subsidiary is Florida Power, the
state's second-largest electric utility with about 1.3 million customers.
Diversified operations include coal mining, marine operations, rail services and
life insurance.
####
Florida Power Corporation
Crystal River Nuclear Plant
Key Restart Activities
LICENSE COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
Physical Modifications - (8) design issues. SUBMITTALS FIELD WORK TARGET COMPLETE
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1. Emergency feedwater system upgrades and diesel generator
load impact. JUN - JUL MAY - AUG SEP 60%
2. Emergency diesel generator loading. JUN - JUL MAR - SEP SEP 60%
3. Low pressure injection mission time. COMPLETE NONE JUN 90%
4. Reactor building spray pump net positive suction head. AUG APR - AUG AUG 70%
5. High pressure injection pump recirculation JUNE 30 SEP - OCT NOV 10%
to the reactor building sump.
6. High pressure injection system modifications to JUNE 30 MAY - NOV NOV 40%
improve small break loss of coolant accident margins.
7. Failure modes and effects of Loss of DC Power JUL - AUG NONE SEP 90%
8. Generic Letter 96-06 - Containment Penetrations JUL APR - SEP SEP 60%
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DISCOVERY
" System Readiness & Review - "Extent of condition" PHASE
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Level 1 reviews ( 8 systems) COMPLETE
Level 2 reviews (18 systems) JUN
Level 3 reviews (79 systems) JUL
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System Checks and Power Ascension START FINISH
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System Lineups, Heatup & Testing" JUL DEC
Secondary Systems Testing SEP SEP
Startup & Power Escalation DEC DEC
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Other Significant Activities START FINISH
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Steam generator testing JUN JUL
Reduce maintenance backlog to less than 200 items JAN DEC
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