WILMINGTON, N.C. - January 16, 2008 : – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a major engineering program submitted by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) on behalf of customers seeking to enhance their reactors' performance.

The NRC completed and issued a Safety Evaluation (SE) approving GEH's Maximum Extended Load Line Limit Analysis Plus (MELLLA+) Licensing Topical Report (LTR). The independent Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards reviewed the LTR and concurred with the NRC staff's conclusions.

MELLLA+ is an engineering analysis that offers boiling water reactor (BWR) utilities greater flexibility and ease to safely operate their units at maximum power for longer periods. MELLLA+ provides for a more efficient reactor startup, maximizes fuel utilization and improves fuel cycle economics. The resulting increased capacity factor and higher plant efficiency can mean millions of dollars in additional revenue each year for BWR operators.

With more than 50 years of experience in the nuclear energy industry, GEH is the world's leading provider of advanced boiling water reactor technology and services, including its MELLLA+ offering.

The NRC issuance of its SE represents the completion of a major regulatory milestone, allowing GEH to commercially introduce its MELLLA+ offering and to allow its customers to submit plant-specific license requests.

There are at least nine utilities with 14 BWRs in North America with plans to apply this flexibility option, particularly those that have implemented, or intend to implement, an extended power uprate (EPU). Such uprates allow an operator to increase a reactor's output as high as 20% above its original licensed power as a result of thorough engineering safety analyses and appropriate plant modifications. These utilities can now make plant-specific MELLLA+ applications to the NRC that reference GEH's LTR in order to unlock the full potential of their EPUs. GEH is already working with its customers to submit MELLLA+ plant-specific applications in 2008.

"The NRC issuance of the Safety Evaluation report is a major milestone not only for MELLLA+, but also our nuclear 'codes and methods' that we use to design, analyze and support the industry," said Andy White, president and CEO of GEH Nuclear Energy, noting GEH's codes and methods were reviewed in detail in conjunction with the MELLLA+ review.

"The NRC's endorsement of MELLLA+ means a great deal to our business and the overall industry. This milestone further demonstrates GEH's commitment to our existing fleet of plants while we make advancements for our next generation of reactors," White said.

About GEH Nuclear Energy

Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, GEH Nuclear Energy is a world-leading provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services. Established in June 2007, GEH is a global nuclear alliance created by GE and Hitachi to serve the global nuclear industry outside Japan. The new nuclear alliance is executing a single, strategic vision to create a broader portfolio of solutions, expanding its capabilities for new reactor and service opportunities. The alliance offers customers around the world the technological leadership required to effectively enhance reactor performance, power output and safety.

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