SCRIBA, NY – At 9:24 a.m.today (Sept. 20), Nine Mile Point Unit 1 experienced an automatic reactor shut down.
The preliminary data indicates the unit experienced a Turbine trip, but the exact cause has not yet been identified, according to company spokesperson Jill Lyon.
“The plant responded according to design and automatically shut down with all safety systems responding appropriately. The plant is in a safe and stable condition,” she said. “Our operators, using detailed procedures and their training, took the appropriate actions to respond to plant conditions.”
All nuclear power plants are designed with a defense-in-depth approach to ensure safety. As such, they are designed to automatically shut down in response to certain indications and conditions.
The cause of the shut down continues to be investigated.
The unit had been at 100% power when the shut down occurred.
Plant personnel are working to identify the cause of the shut down and will determine what, if any, repairs or actions will be required to ensure continued safe, reliable operations prior to returning to service.
“The unit will be returned to service when the required work scope has been successfully completed and tested. I cannot comment on the specific duration for this outage,” Lyon said.
Unit 2 is currently operating safely at 100% power.
“Constellation Energy Nuclear Group’s highest value is safety: nuclear safety, public safety, worker safety and environmental safety. As operators of nuclear power plants, our focus is to ensure the health and safety of our employees and the public,” she said.
