Palisades nuclear still fixing power problem

Palisades Nuclear Plant Reduced Power continues after a 4,160-volt electrical bus failure halted a cooling-tower water pump near South Haven, per NRC updates; an earlier Notification of Unusual Event was lifted, with grid reliability maintained.

Getting the Palisades Nuclear Plant back to full power “should not take long,” a plant spokesman said.

But Mark Savage said he couldn’t offer a more specific timeline for finishing repairs to electrical components that supply power to a cooling-tower water pump that went down January 8 at the plant near South Haven.

The plant continues to operate at reduced power — 55 percent of normal — as repairs continue but is no longer under an emergency state, Savage said.

Plant operators issued a Notification of Unusual Event, the lowest of four emergency states for U.S. nuclear plants under NRC guidelines.

By the end of January 8, the emergency state was lifted, said Viktoria Mitlyng, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“They remain there at 55 percent power until they make sure all electrical components are operable and there are no issues,” Mitlyng said.

Savage said plant officials don’t know what caused the problem, in which a 4,160-volt electrical bus failed. The electrical failure caused one of two pumps that supply water to the plant’s cooling towers to stop running.

Palisades officials and the NRC said that the failure was not a concern for public health and safety.

Electricity customers are not affected, Savage said. The reduction of electricity on the power grid is made up for, as when a power plant is taken offline, with power from other suppliers, he said.

The Covert Township plant is owned by New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. and has been in operation since 1971.

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