NEWS RELEASE

NEI Welcomes Senate Committee Approval of Nominees to Nuclear Regulatory Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today approved the nominations of George Apostolakis, Bill Magwood and Bill Ostendorff to serve as commissioners on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Following is a statement by the Nuclear Energy Institute’s senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, Tony Pietrangelo, on the committee’s action.

“The nuclear energy industry welcomes the advancement of these well-qualified nominees in the confirmation process, and hopes the full Senate will act on their nominations without delay. The NRC has not had a full complement of five commissioners for a number of years, and the agency’s important mission is better served when additional insight and oversight are provided by more, not fewer, capable commissioners.

“With new power plant applications pending before the NRC, along with license extension applications and capacity uprate requests, the industry is working hard to continue serving society with reliable, affordable, carbon-free electricity supplies. We believe it is important that the NRC fulfills its mission with effective, consistent policies that permit industry and regulatory resources to be devoted to those issues most important to safety.”