Vogtle 2 reactor goes offline after water level decreased

May 25, 2016 Wayne Barber Generation

The 1,100-MW Vogtle Unit 2 nuclear reactor in Georgia went offline unexpectedly in the pre-dawn hours of May 25 after the water level for a steam generator “began to lower for an unknown reason” according to an event report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Southern (NYSE:SO) utility Georgia Power is investigating the cause of the incident, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on May 25. Unit 2 was listed at zero generation early May 25, according to NRC’s daily reactor status report.

Unit 1 was listed at 100% generation.

The dual-unit station will be home to four reactors in a few years when Georgia Power and its partners complete the construction of Vogtle Units 3 and 4.

About Wayne Barber 4201 Articles

Wayne Barber, Chief Analyst for the GenerationHub, has been covering power generation, energy and natural resources issues at national publications for more than 20 years. Prior to joining PennWell he was editor of Generation Markets Week at SNL Financial for nine years. He has also worked as a business journalist at both McGraw-Hill and Financial Times Energy. Wayne also worked as a newspaper reporter for several years. During his career has visited nuclear reactors and coal mines as well as coal and natural gas power plants. Wayne can be reached at wayneb@pennwell.com.