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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2016
Stakeholder
Outreach
By Steve Higginbottom, Tennessee Valley
Authority.
Steve Higginbottom
Steve Higginbottom is the Senior
Manager of Nuclear Communications
for the Tennessee
Valley Authority.
In that role he
leads the group
of professionals
responsible for
implementing the
internal and external
communications
strategies and tactics
for TVA’s three
nuclear sites and
corporate. Steve
directly supports the
Chief Nuclear Officer
and senior leadership
team in helping drive
achievement of the
Nuclear business
plan and vision and
ensuring alignment
with TVA’s overall brand identity.
Steve acted as lead spokesperson for
Southern Company’s Vogtle 3 & 4 during
licensing and early construction.
Nuclear Energy Institute’s Top Industry
Practice (TIP) Awards highlight the
nuclear industry’s most innovative
techniques and ideas.
This innovation won a Communications
Award.
The Tennessee Valley Authority team
members who participated included:
Steve Higginbottom, Manager, Nuclear
Communications; Susan Lauver, Senior
Strategic Communications Specialist;
Kay Whittenburg, Nuclear Construction
Support Specialist; Bill Sitton, Senior
Strategic Communications Partner; Scott
Brooks, Public Relations Consultant IV.
Summary
Throughout 2014 and 2015, TVA
was continuing its efforts to complete
construction of a second generating unit
at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in eastern Ten-
nessee and seeking an operating license
from the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-
sion. As TVA’s largest capital project
in decades, representing an approximate
$4.5 billion investment and providing a
critical low-cost, reliable and environ-
mentally beneficial addition to the com-
pany’s
generation
portfolio, successful
completion and ac-
quisition of the op-
erating license was
of paramount impor-
tance.
There
were,
however,
consider-
able risks and chal-
lenges to overcome
in achieving that ob-
jective.
Prominent
among those was
building and sustain-
ing regulatory and
stakeholder
confi-
dence in TVA’s ability
to complete the unit
in a safe and quality
manner that met all
regulatory requirements and protected
the health and safety of employees and
the public.
Watts Bar Units 1 and 2 have a
unique licensing history and regulatory
framework. Construction of the two
units began in the 1970s with Unit 1
commencing operation in 1996 as the last
commercial nuclear reactor to come on
line in the 20th century. After suspending
work on Unit 2 in the mid-1980s, TVA in
2007 resumed construction with approval
to do so based on a Detailed Scoping,
Estimating and Planning document
prepared for the project. The company
was not, however, successful in meeting
the milestones and previous efforts at
project recovery were not successful.
Consequently, in 2011 TVA
established a new management team to
get the project back on track. History,
however, had taken its toll on perceptions
of the company’s ability to successfully
complete and license the unit. While
public opinion research in 2014
demonstrated support for nuclear – across
the region, 49 percent of the general
public, 64 percent of influentials and 61
percent of public officials were favorable
toward nuclear energy – a review of news
coverage showed that regional, national
and trade outlets had negatively covered
the delays and management changes at
Watts Bar for decades. Regional media
in particular were scrutinizing progress
reports to see if the latest management
changes were making a difference.
Further, informal research showed
that key stakeholders were generally
unfamiliar with nuclear plants. Many
were unaware of the redundant safety
systems built into nuclear plants and
the extraordinary scale of a nuclear
project, which requires significant capital
investment. Some stakeholders were
uncertain about whether the unit was still
needed after years of delays and rising
costs. And for many, the site itself was
mysterious. Meanwhile, long-time critics
of nuclear energy – including some living
in the Watts Bar area – were calling the
project obsolete and a “boondoggle”
and higher costs were raising questions
among investors, customers and the
public.
To build greater stakeholder
confidence in the company’s ability to
complete the unit and integrate it for safe
dual-unit operations, TVA established an
innovative cross-functional outreach team
in early 2014. The team continued its
extensive efforts until late 2015 when the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued
the operating license for the unit – the
first such issuance in nearly 20 years. The
team included TVA Communications,
Nuclear Communications, Regulatory
Affairs, Government Relations, Investor
Relations and Customer Relations
representatives.
By
strategically
targeting stakeholder groups using a
detailed strategic plan and transparent,
informative, innovative and cost-effective
communications tactics and channels,
the team laid the groundwork for local,
regional and national support that directly
contributed to increased regulatory
confidence in TVA Nuclear and ultimate
acquisition of the Unit 2 operating license
– the first of the 21st Century.
