The Independent Nuclear Oversight Working Group (INOWG) held a meeting this week at Endesa’s headquarters in Madrid, with the aim of analysing the challenges faced by the nuclear sector in terms of safety and to share experiences regarding how to tackle them via the independent supervision of the main operators. Over 40 professionals from Europe, the United States and Japan took part in the meeting, representing power companies and nuclear power plant operators (CEZ, EDF Energy, Electrabel/Engie, Endesa Iberdrola, Fortum, Sellafield, Slovenske Elektrarne, Tepco, Vattenfall, Ringhals AB, MVM Hungarian Electricity, NV EPZ, Uniper and Rosenergatom), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO).
The working group was formed five years ago, with the first meeting held at Endesa in 2011, which not only involved the Enel group, but also other companies with interests in nuclear assets and the goal was established to increase the effectiveness of Independent Oversight through mutual training and development, exchanging experts in various supervision activities, promoting independence and the exchange of information and work practices. The activities carried out to date have focused on training plant supervisors, Quality relations, the corporate Oversight function and a comparative analysis of key performance indicators.
With the inauguration of the symposium, Endesa’s general manager for Nuclear Energy, Juan María Moreno, highlighted the importance of safety beyond international and local requirements established by regulations in each country, as a fundamental aspect for operating these plants on a long-term basis. This working group was voluntarily created by the main European operators specifically as part of this commitment to safety. Among the issues addressed, specific oversight aspects were also discussed regarding organisation and leadership, new challenges regarding the safety of the electricity market and also dismantling processes and the construction of new plants.