Nuclear agency inspects Taft plant
LOUISIANA - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at Entergy Louisiana Inc.'s Waterford 3 nuclear plant in Taft because of repeated problems with electrical relay switches.
The inspection was ordered after plant operators discovered problems in a high-pressure safety injection pump that is used to supply cooling water to the plant's reactor core during some accident conditions. The problem was traced to an electrical relay, which subsequently was replaced, allowing the pump to operate normally.
But Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials are concerned because there have been six previous failures of similar electrical relay switches at Waterford in the past year.
The inspection, which began July 20, is expected to last for several days.
Related News
New Hampshire rejects Quebec-Massachusetts transmission proposal
MONTREAL - Regulators in the state of New Hampshire on Thursday rejected a major electricity project being piloted by Quebec’s hydro utility and its American partner, Eversource.
Members of New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee unanimously denied an application for the Northern Pass project, a week after the state of Massachusetts green-lit the proposal.
Both states had to accept the project, as the transmission lines were to bring up to 9.45 terawatt hours of electricity per year from Quebec’s hydroelectric plants to Massachusetts, through New Hampshire.
The 20-year proposal was to be the biggest export contract in Hydro-Quebec’s history, and would generate up to…
