[iwar] [fc:NRC.Website.Shutdown.Could.Boost.Power.Prices]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-16 15:27:54

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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 15:27:54 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:NRC.Website.Shutdown.Could.Boost.Power.Prices]
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NRC Website Shutdown Could Boost Power Prices 
Energy Online, 10/16/2001
<a href="http://www.energyonline.com/news/articles/j15-1nuk.asp">http://www.energyonline.com/news/articles/j15-1nuk.asp>

The decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to temporarily shut
down its Website over concerns that it was providing terrorists with too
much information could push up wholesale electricity prices, according
to a report by Reuters news agency. 
The NRC closed the site last Thursday, posting the message "Our site is
not operational at this time. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has
taken the action to shut down its web site. In support of our mission to
protect public health and safety, we are performing a review of all
material on our site. We appreciate your patience and understanding
during these difficult times." 
Icons on the site, which ordinarily lead to directories and maps showing
the location of commercial nuclear reactors, design specifications for
each facility and other possibly sensitive information were unclickable. 
Gone was a link to the agency's daily plant status report, a Web page
that electricity traders look to for fundamental market supply data,
Reuters said. EnergyOnline Daily News checks the page daily to learn of
outages and unusual events at the nations nuclear power plants. 
"If they find some reason this information would be dangerous in the
hands of a terrorist, then I'm all for keeping it off the Web site," an
unnamed trader told Reuters, echoing the views of all the power traders
the news agency surveyed. 
The traders warned, however, that keeping the information from the
marketplace would give reactor owners and the local utilities they
supply a big advantage over energy marketers who have no power plants in
the area. 
Nuclear power plants are big -- on the order of 1,000 megawatts per
reactor -- and they are baseload plants, producing electricity nearly
100 percent of the time for a year or two at a stretch. When one reactor
comes off line, replacement power must be found for it. 
Because nuclear power is among the lowest cost source of electricity,
the replacement power frequently costs a great deal more. Energy
traders, without knowing the status of the reactors, will have to hedge
their bets, which could lead to higher prices. 
"You take in all the information available, process it and make a best
guess at what the price of power will be each day based on what plants
are available, what the weather is, what the cost of fuel is. Not
knowing where the nukes are is just another unknown that will cost
money," a trader told Reuters.

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