Diablo Canyon contractor apologizes for its ‘emotional response’ to being passed over by PG&E
The PG&E contractor that came unglued after losing a bid to supply dry casks to the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has issued a mea culpa — and backed away from threats to challenge PG&E’s decision.
Pierre P. Oneid, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer for Holtec International, issued the retraction on Friday.
He apologized for sending a scathing letter that condemned PG&E for choosing Orano USA to supply additional casks, rather than Holtec.
While it’s good to know Holtec has come to its senses, such stunningly unprofessional behavior never should have happened in the first place.
It caused some alarm in the community, and since when is it OK to attack a competitor in such a malicious manner?
Among other allegations, Oneid accused PG&E of blatantly disregarding the safety of the San Luis Obispo County community and questioned the utility’s ability to make good decisions.
“PG&E’s technically knowledgeable personnel appear to have been sidelined or muzzled,” he wrote.
Oneid warned that the storage modules selected by the utility are “apt to slide and fall in the Pacific Ocean” in the event of an earthquake.
He also claimed Orano’s system is not licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (It is.)
Oneid walked back those allegations in a letter to PG&E:
“At the direction of Holtec International’s Executive Committee, we respectfully wish to retract our letter dated April 6, 2022,” he wrote. “Accordingly, we withdraw each of the complaints and assertions made in that letter, including assertions about inadequacies of PG&E’s RFP (request for proposals).”
He went on to say that the letter “reflected an emotional response in the immediate wake of the disappointing news regarding the loss of opportunity to serve your company after 35 years of supply of goods and services.”
“We recognize our decades of close working relationship and numerous transactions with PG&E and our ongoing obligations that remain to serve Diablo Canyon including management support of the existing dry storage systems,” the letter continues.
“We respect PG&E’s authority and decision regarding the selection of your future supplier and technology, and we don’t intend to contest your decision in this matter.”
Oneid’s original letter of April 6 was marked confidential, but it wound up on the website of the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Panel, which is advising PG&E on issues surrounding the closure of California’s last nuclear power plant, scheduled for 2024-25.
The letter was greeted with both confusion and consternation.
“I can’t tell if the letter is just sour grapes by a company that lost a lucrative contract or whether it raises substantial issues,” panel member Kara Woodruff said.
Orano was forced into the position of having to defend itself from what it called “scathing misinformation and misdirection.”
We have no doubt that Holtec acted in the heat of the moment after losing a contract it obviously expected to win. Up until now, it has supplied all of the dry casks used to store spent nuclear fuel at Diablo Canyon.
But it was irresponsible to spread rumors and falsehoods, only to have to retract them later.
Few of us have the engineering expertise to judge whether one storage system is better than another, which makes us particularly vulnerable to misinformation.
Of course legitimate concerns about safety issues at Diablo Canyon should be shared, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do that.
In a rash moment, Holtec chose the wrong way — and it lost credibility as a result.
This story was originally published April 23, 2022 at 5:30 AM.