According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the utility's chief nuclear officer, Preston Swafford, told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday that TVA won't invite inspectors until the agency is confident the plant is ready to pass inspection. Swafford said he didn't know when that would be.
NRC regional administrator Victor McCree said it takes time to bring a plant into compliance when performance isn't as good as it should be.
The federal safety agency tagged the northern Alabama plant with a "red" rating last May, indicating a "high significance" finding. The NRC said it was the fifth "red" rating nationwide in the past decade.






