The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on all of our lives. NEI is grateful to the men and women who are providing healthcare to those in need, to those who continue to keep grocery stores stocked, and to the first responders keep our communities safe. We also express our thanks to the men and women working tirelessly to keep our lights on.
NEI is committed to supporting the industry through the challenges presented by the pandemic. We have established a number of touch points for the industry to coordinate, communicate, and share learnings and best practices. We continue to be the voice of the industry as we engage directly with lawmakers, regulators, the media and other stakeholders about actions necessary to ensure safe, reliable operation of the U.S. nuclear fleet.
What the Industry Is Doing
As part of the nation’s critical infrastructure, utilities have plans in place to ensure nuclear power plants are prepared for and ready to respond to a pandemic, with the goal of minimizing disruption to operations. Because nuclear power plant emergency plans are designed to address a wide variety of challenges, including natural phenomena such as hurricanes, companies that own these facilities have been able to leverage the related knowledge and infrastructure to support their pandemic response efforts.
Utilities are taking actions to limit the potential for infections, such as implementing teleworking where appropriate, practicing responsible social distancing both at work and home, and screening personnel allowed on-site. Specific actions by each plant will vary based on the condition at that plant and its plant status. These actions may include, but are not limited to:
- mechanisms to maintain awareness and communicate with staff
- telling workers who don’t feel well to stay home and encourage them to seek medical attention, liberalizing the sick-leave policy, developing or updating a policy on telecommuting
- setting up a screening point before people can enter the plant, to identify people who have symptoms
- making masks, hand sanitizer and gloves available within a plant to places where they will be needed
- focusing on extra disinfection of common areas
- using paperless work processes to reduce human contact and teleconferencing when possible.
Nuclear workers are essential employees. The nuclear industry is committed to maintaining safe, reliable operations in times of challenging national circumstances. We know that nuclear power plant operations and the availability of electric service will be tremendously important in minimizing the impact of the situation on the general public.
If you’re an NEI Member, you can access our COVID-19 Industry Response Toolkit here.
Letters
The industry continues to work with the federal government and state officials to provide reliable electricity as the nation responds to this pandemic. These engagements are critical to keeping nuclear plants operating and ensuring always-on carbon-free nuclear energy is available to power our nation’s grid.
- NEI Letter to Secretary Brouillette Requesting Assistance During COVID-19
- NEI Letter to Secretary Mnuchin and NEC Director Kudlow on Initial COVID-19 Stimulus Package
- NEI Letter to the National Governors Assocation on Support Needed to Maintain a Reliable Electricity Grid During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Guidance from DHS: Advisory Memrandum on Indentifcation of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response
NEI Conferences
For the most up-to-date information on the status of scheduled conferences and meetings, visit our conference registration page. Where possible, we are providing attendees with alternatives to in-person participation (such as webinars, teleconference lines).
For the latest public health information, please visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 webpage and the World Health Organization's webpage and situation dashboard.
