The incident yesterday raises questions about the ability of reactor operators to run their plants at low power.
The reactor operators disabled safety systems down to the generators, which the test was really about.
This behavior is counter-intuitive and was not known to the reactor operators.
Federal law requires reactor operators to buy $200 million in conventional insurance.
This is designed to happen even if the reactor operators take no action.
Most are contract employees; some work directly for the reactor operators.
Training each reactor operator costs about $250 an hour, Entergy estimates.
Promoting him to a senior reactor operator adds $90,000 to that expense.
If the appropriate storage facilities do not exist, that is a problem which should and can be addressed by the reactor operators themselves.
All reactor operators signed contracts with the department in the mid-1980's and paid it fees.