Palisades nuclear still fixing power problem

subscribe

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

But Mark Savage said he couldnÂ’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 — 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.

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 donÂ’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 plantÂ’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 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.

Related News

Electricity turns garbage into graphene

LONDON - Science doesn’t usually take after fairy tales. But Rumpelstiltskin, the magical imp who spun straw into gold, would be impressed with the latest chemical wizardry. Researchers at Rice University report today in Nature that they can zap virtually any source of solid carbon, from food scraps to old car tires, and turn it into graphene—sheets of carbon atoms prized for applications ranging from high-strength plastic to flexible electronics. Current techniques yield tiny quantities of picture-perfect graphene or up to tons of less prized graphene chunks; the new method already produces grams per day of near-pristine graphene in the…

READ MORE

UK homes can become virtual power plants to avoid outages

READ MORE

oeb

Ontario Energy Board prohibiting electricity shutoffs during latest stay-at-home order

READ MORE

pge camp fire

PG&E pleads guilty to 85 counts in 2018 Camp Fire

READ MORE

ns rate increase

Nova Scotia Premier calls on regulators to reject 14% electricity rate hike agreement

READ MORE