C&I / I&C meaning

C&I (also I&C) means the control and instrumentation systems and equipment that monitor, control and protect a nuclear power plant. In legal practice the term appears in nuclear site licensing, safety cases, regulatory correspondence, and EPC/O&M and supply contracts. It is not defined in UK or Irish legislation or case law; it is an industry expression reflected in regulatory guidance and international standards (for example ONR Safety Assessment Principles and IAEA/IEC norms). npp C&I typically comprises analogue and digital instrumentation, control logic (hardware and software), sensors and actuators, human-machine interfaces, alarms and indications, plant parameter visualisation, facilities for manual control, automatic protection systems (including reactor trip) and the actuation of engineered safety features. Legally significant features include safety classification and qualification, reliability, redundancy and diversity, software assurance, cybersecurity of safety-related and safety-class systems, and configuration and change control. C&I requirements are often allocated as a discrete contract package, with detailed performance, integration and licensing obligations, acceptance testing and maintenance regimes. Usage is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Ireland has no operating NPPs, but the term is encountered in cross-border procurement, regulatory cooperation and nuclear supply-chain work.