I have often mentioned my concerns about the honesty and competence of companies in the nuclear industry. There are numerous examples of companies taking shortcuts on construction, failing to replace equipment that is wearing out, failing to train employees properly, failing to address and report on serious problems, failing to follow proper procedures and, all in all, putting profits way above safety. The only reason that nuclear power is still being seriously discussed is because there are so many billions of dollars being spent to build reactors that there is plenty of profit to be made and plenty of money to grease the way with bribes and campaign contributions. A recent report by Tennessee Valley Authority inspectors found that a big nuclear contractor overbilled the Authority millions of dollars for work on reactors under construction.
Bechtel Power Corporation is one of the biggest nuclear contracting firms in the world. The TVA hired Bechtel to help design, engineer and oversee work on the TVA's four billion two hundred million dollar Watts Bar project. The TVA Inspector General reviewed Bechtel bills for five hundred and twenty billion dollars from 2010 to 2013.
According to recently completed audits by the TVA inspectors, Bechtel submitted invoices for labor, travel and housing expenses that were ineligible for reimbursement on the project. The following improper charges were submitted for work on the Watts Bar nuclear plant that is being built near Spring City, Tennessee.
$923,231 were billed in labor hours and payroll additions.
$938,928 were billed in unsupported relocation and travel bills.
$204,336 were billed for improper subcontractor costs.
From 2010 to 2012, Bechtel and Sargent & Lundy LLC carried out engineering work on the Bellefonte nuclear plant near Hollywood, Alabama. The two firms were paid a little over sixty million dollars to help assess the condition of the Bellefonte plant. In 2012, the TVA decided to stop work on the Bellefonte plant and re-evaluate the future of the half-finished plant. An IG audit found that Bechtel was paid one million nine hundred thousand dollars for labor and living expenses that lacked proper documentation to prove that they were eligible for reimbursement. The TVA has not decided if they will go ahead and finish the Bellefonte plant or just abandon it.
The overcharges from Bechtel represent less than one percent of the total charges for the two year period. The TVA says that nevertheless, they do not want to pay for any ineligible bills. Bechtel has stated that it will review the claimed overcharges. As I said at the beginning of this blog post, there is a huge amount of money being spent on nuclear reactors. It may be that Bechtel was just sloppy in its accounting or it may be that they intentionally tried to slip in few extra bills to pad their bottom line. In any case, all the money being spent on nuclear reactor construction would be much better spent on renewable energy sources.
