Utility Getting Out Of N-Power Business

The Washington Public Power Supply System has started planning for a future without a nuclear power plant.

The consortium of public utilities has just two power plants: The No. 2 nuclear reactor near Richland and the tiny Packwood hydroelectric project near Mount Rainier.

The nuclear plant was named by a watchdog group last week as the second-worst in the country. Its operating license is due to expire in 2024, and utility executives aren’t counting on an extension.

“We’re going to have to invent our own future,” said Vic Parrish, chief executive officer of the utility.

On Friday, executives said they were looking into three general lines of business.

Working with low-level nuclear waste, such as that from hospitals, destined for the U.S. Ecology disposal site at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Marketing electricity generated by other utilities.

Leasing WPPSS employees with specialized expertise to other utilities on a short-term basis.

All three proposals are conceptual, said Jack Baker, the WPPSS executive in charge of new ventures.

But new forms of income are necessary not only for WPPSS after 2024, but perhaps to keep the reactor running in the short term, said Don Carter, chairman of the WPPSS executive board.

WPPSS officials have reduced expenses, in part by dropping employment from 1,900 to about 1,200 in two years. But there will be a point where officials can’t make additional cuts, Carter said.