NRC correspondence, dated late last week, seems to suggest the federal nuclear watchdog is growing impatient with Duke Energy’s request for more time to meet new regulations covering enhanced fire-monitoring and suppression at the Oconee Nuclear Station. At issue, whether Duke should be allowed two additional years. In a summary of a November teleconference between the NRC and Duke, John Boska of NRC’s Division of Operating Reactor Licensing wrote, “Duke stated they would attempt to improve on these dates if possible, but believed that these were the dates they could commit to in a revised license condition. The NRC staff stated that we would have to have further discussions with NRC management.”