The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has filled several positions in its early efforts to address a high-profile, expensive breakdown in contracting for decommissioning of the nation’s retired Magnox reactors, the agency’s chief executive.
The steps come as NDA waits on the findings of an official government inquiry into the matter, led by former National Grid chief Steve Holliday.
“The NDA is awaiting the findings of the independent Holliday Inquiry into the awarding of the contract but we have already taken some significant steps to strengthen our organization,” NDA CEO David Peattie said in the forward to the agency’s latest business plan. “This includes the appointment of a new Commercial Director, General Legal Counsel and we look forward to a new Nuclear Operations Director joining us on 3 April 2018. We have also improved the way in which we govern our businesses with much stronger performance.”
The business plan covers operations from April 2018 through March 2021 at the nondepartmental public body, which receives about £3 billion annually to manage environmental remediation at 17 nuclear sites around the country.
For the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the NDA expects to receive £3.146 billion, encompassing £2.269 million from the government and £0.877 billion from commercial operations. Almost all of that, £2.967 billion, will be spent on site projects, with the remaining divided between skills development, research and development, insurance and pensions, and other costs.
The NDA in 2014 contracted with Cavendish Fluor Partnership for decommissioning of 10 retired Magnox power reactors and two nuclear sites. That led to separate lawsuits from two U.S. companies that had teamed to bid on the contract, for which the NDA in 2017 paid out nearly £100 million. The British High Court also found that the agency had “fudged” the procurement process, and the NDA in March 2017 said it would end the Cavendish Fluor contract in September 2019 – nine years early.
