Indian Point Siren Notification System Ready to be Placed into Service

Entergy News Release
August 22, 2007

Buchanan, N.Y. — Entergy Nuclear today is notifying the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the new, state-of-the-art, siren alert notification system for the Indian Point Energy Center is ready to be placed into service pending federal reviews.

Entergy also is providing hundreds of pages of documents, including graphs, maps and diagrams, as well as results from more than 50 system tests performed during a formal testing regimen conducted between Aug. 1 and Aug. 20 that demonstrate the system performs reliably and with sufficient volume to reach the outdoor areas of the entire 10-mile emergency planning zone, approximately 340 square miles, that includes parts of Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam counties. Entergy had committed in a letter to the NRC on May 23, 2007, to have the system ready to be placed into service by Aug. 24.

Said Michael Balduzzi, Entergy senior vice president and chief operating officer, "We are very grateful to the public for its patience and understanding while we repeatedly sounded the sirens, particularly in the last several weeks. We also appreciate the support of the counties, New York State, and FEMA, which all have worked very hard to be sure this very complex system, the most advanced in the nation, operates reliably. We look forward to providing FEMA the support it needs for its review." The new siren system meets all the design requirements of several applicable NRC orders, including backup power for each siren system component, from the computers and radios used to activate the sirens to each of the 155 sirens that now have a back-up battery attached to it. The new sirens are part of a major enhancement of the four counties' emergency notification capabilities, which include an automatic speed-dialing system that can notify people by phone in their homes and businesses, or by cell phone. That system has also been successfully tested by Entergy and the counties.

While FEMA and the NRC review the data on the testing and other materials Entergy provided, two siren systems would be available for use at Indian Point, twice the normal capability. The system currently in service, which tested successfully in June, will remain as the primary notification system until FEMA and the NRC complete their reviews. Reviews will continue on the performance of the new siren system over several months even after placing it into service.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and approximately 14,500 employees.

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