PSEG Nuclear last week called on PJM’s Board of Managers to prevent planners from using what the company said is unproven technology in the stability fix for Artificial Island.

The company, operators of the island’s Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants, said a proposal by Dominion Resources could result in damage to turbine generator shafts and widespread outages.

Thomas Joyce, chief nuclear officer, said in a letter that Dominion plans to use “FACTS” devices, “for which there is limited knowledge of potential failure modes and their frequency of occurrence.”

Dominion is one of four finalists for the Artificial Island project; PSEG Nuclear’s sister company, Public Service Electric & Gas, is also in contention.

Joyce’s letter repeats criticism the company leveled during presentations before the Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee Dec. 9. (See Artificial Island Finalists Face Off in Tense Meeting.)

“PJM staff had previously represented that it consulted with the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] and the NRC was unconcerned with any of the proposals,” Joyce wrote. “At the Dec. 9 TEAC meeting, we learned for the first time that the ‘consultation’ consisted of only informal discussions during two telephone calls. This is a far cry from anything close to an official licensing position on the part of the NRC.”

Joyce said that “by proposing to install these devices in close proximity to the second largest nuclear facility in the United States, PJM is creating the potential for a series of events that can not only cause harm to the multiple nuclear units at AI but also potentially impact a substantial portion of the EMAAC/Mid-Atlantic system.”