Washington, U.S.A. — Thirty-four nuclear energy facilities in the path of Hurricane Sandy have responded well and safely to this powerful storm, demonstrating their resilience against severe natural forces.

Careful planning and comprehensive preparations days in advance of the storm paid off at all of the facilities, which were prepared to take the steps necessary to maintain safety against high winds, record flooding and disturbances on the regional electric grid. Highly trained reactor operators and emergency response personnel stationed at the plants throughout the storm were able to take actions beyond their usual duties to protect the power plants and communities that surround them. As Hurricane Sandy moves beyond the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states after knocking out electricity to seven million customers in 13 states, nuclear facility operators are conducting thorough inspections to ensure that all systems and equipment are ready to maintain the facilities in a safe condition.

Of the 34 nuclear facilities from South Carolina to Vermont in Hurricane Sandy’s path, 24 continued to operate safely and generate electricity throughout the event. Seven were already shut down for refueling or inspection, and three in New Jersey or New York safely shut down, as designed, because of storm conditions or grid disturbances. Inspectors from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been stationed at each nuclear energy facility to oversee preparation for and recovery from the storm.

“Hurricane Sandy once again demonstrates the robust construction of nuclear energy facilities, which are built to withstand extreme flooding and hurricane-force winds that are beyond that historically reported for each area,” said Marvin S. Fertel, president and chief executive officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute. “Beyond the physical strength of these nuclear power plants, the professional crews that operate and maintain them take exacting precautions as significant storms approach. They also coordinate with local, state and federal emergency response officials.

“Our facilities’ ability to weather the strongest Atlantic tropical storm on record is due to rigorous precautions taken in advance of the storm. In the days prior to Sandy storming the Atlantic coast, nuclear plant operators took a series of actions outlined in their emergency preparedness plans,” Fertel said. “These include securing or moving any equipment that could possibly become airborne due to high winds and verifying that weather-tight doors and water intakes are prepared. Each plant site also has numerous emergency backup diesel generators that are tested and ready to provide electricity for critical operations if electric power from the grid is lost.”

As a precaution, a reactor will be shut down at least two hours before the onset of hurricane-force winds at the site, typically between 70 and 75 miles per hour. If there is a loss of off-site power during or following a hurricane, reactors automatically shut down as a precaution and the emergency backup diesel generators will begin operating to provide electrical power to plant safety systems.

“Actions taken by companies operating reactors in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast once again demonstrate that nuclear energy facilities are well protected against extreme natural events,” Fertel said.

In 2011, 24 reactors at 15 facilities from North Carolina to New England safely withstood Hurricane Irene, a category 3 hurricane. In 2005, Entergy safely shut down Waterford 3 in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, knocked out off-site power and damaged the regional electrical infrastructure. Florida Power & Light in 2004 safely shut down St. Lucie 1 and 2 in Florida after Hurricane Jeanne caused a loss of off-site power.

During Hurricane Sandy, Exelon’s Oyster Creek reactor in New Jersey, which was shut down before the storm for a refueling outage, declared an alert on October 29. The alert, the second lowest of four Nuclear Regulatory Commission action levels, was in response to high water levels at the facility’s cooling water intake structure. Exelon is in the process of restoring off-site power to the facility. Until then, Oyster Creek is being safely powered by backup diesel-driven electrical generators that have fuel to power the reactor’s safety systems for more than two weeks. The plant’s reactor and used fuel storage pool have ample water supplies for cooling.

The following is a summary of U.S. nuclear power plant performance during Hurricane Sandy (as of 11 a.m. October 30).

North Carolina:
Brunswick 1 and 2—continued operating at 100 percent power.

Virginia:
Surry 1 and 2—continued operating at 100 percent power
North Anna 1 and 2—continued operating at 100 percent power.

Maryland:
Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2—continued operating at 100 percent power.

New Jersey:
Oyster Creek—shut down for refueling outage; alert declared October 29 due to high water level at water intake structure
Hope Creek 1—continued operating at 100 percent power
Salem 1—manual safe shut down from 100 percent power on October 30 due to high water level at water intake structure
Salem 2—shut down for refueling outage.

Pennsylvania:
Peach Bottom 2 and 3—continued operating at 100 percent power
Three Mile Island 1—continued operating at 100 percent power
Limerick 1 and 2—safely reduced power from 100 percent to 50 percent and 22 percent respectively on October 30 due to storm effects and at the request of the regional electric grid operator
Beaver Valley 1—continued operating at 100 percent power
Beaver Valley 2—shut down for refueling outage
Susquehanna 1—shut down for turbine inspection
Susquehanna 2—continued operating at 75 percent power.

Ohio:
Perry 1—safely reduced power from 100 percent to 91 percent on October 30 at the request of the regional electric grid operator
Davis-Besse—continued operating at 100 percent power.

New York:
Indian Point 2—continued operating at 100 percent power
Indian Point 3—manual safe shut down from 100 percent power on October 30 due to an electric grid disruption
Ginna—shut down for refueling outage
Fitzpatrick—continued operating at 100 percent power
Nine Mile Point 1—manual safe shut down from 100 percent power on October 29 due to an electric grid disruption
Nine Mile Point 2—continued operating at 100 percent power.

Connecticut:
Millstone 2—shut down for refueling outage
Millstone 3—safely reduced power from 100 percent to 75 percent on October 29 at the request of the electric grid operator.

Massachusetts:
Pilgrim 1—continued operating at 100 percent power.

New Hampshire:
Seabrook 1—shut down for refueling outage, but safely restarted October 30 and is at 20 percent power.

Vermont:
Vermont Yankee—safely reduced power from 100 percent to 90 percent on October 30 at the request of the regional electric grid operator.

Nuclear power plants operating in 31 states provide electricity to one of every five U.S. homes and businesses. Nuclear energy produces more electricity than any other source in Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

Nuclear energy facilities are designed to withstand natural occurrences greater than those encountered in the regions where they are located. They are built to withstand floods, earthquakes and high winds, and have numerous safety systems that will operate and safely shut the reactor down in the event of a loss of off-site power.

U.S. nuclear energy facilities have a long history of successfully and safely responding to natural challenges.

The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry’s policy organization. This news release and additional information about nuclear energy are available at www.nei.org.

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New Orleans, U.S.A. — Hurricane Isaac’s high winds and slow trek through southeastern Louisiana have caused extensive outages to Entergy’s power grid. As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, 409,000 customers were without electricity in Louisiana.

Isaac came ashore in Plaquemines Parish at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Its slow crawl along coastal Louisiana parishes caused high winds and rain squalls to continually pound southeastern Louisiana throughout the night. The storm’s high winds are lingering in south Louisiana, causing the restoration process to be delayed. Crews are not able to hit the streets in full force until the winds are below 30 mph.

“Isaac is testing everyone’s patience with its slow movement through south Louisiana,” said Bill Mohl, Entergy Louisiana, LLC president and CEO. “We are ready to mount a counterattack to Isaac’s onslaught just as soon as the weather conditions allow us to do so.”

Entergy spent the past several days amassing a workforce of more than 4,000 company and contract workers to respond to Isaac’s aftermath. Very early assessments indicate the company will be facing a range of rebuilding and restoration challenges, including debris damage, downed power lines and significant damage due to trees falling on equipment and taking down power lines.

“Isaac is not done in Louisiana,” Mohl said. “It continues to move through the state with its high winds causing power outages in its wake. We’ll start restoring power where and when we can and move resources across the state as needed.”

The company continues to urge everyone to be safe, including customers and Entergy personnel and contractors. Stay away from downed power lines as well as flooded areas. Do not walk in standing water and do not venture into areas of debris since you may not be able to see a power line that could still be energized and dangerous.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation’s leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

Image Courtesy of  PBS News Hour

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