Alert Declared for Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Station in North Carolina

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Station, which is located in New Hill, North Carolina, reduced power around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 8, and is currently operating at 92% due to a malfunction with the electrical distribution equipment. The station is owned by Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina).

Plant officials at Harris said that the electrical distribution equipment malfunctioned due to a safe shutdown equipment bus exploding in the 936-megawatt (MW) Unit 1. Power was reduced to 92% due to a resulting loss in moisture from the separator re-heaters on the secondary side of the unit.

An alert was declared because the explosion carried enough force that it could have damaged permanent structures and/or equipment within the protected area. Luckily, there is no ongoing fire and no reported injuries to plant personnel. Officials also said that no radioactive material was released because of the incident.

After an inspection revealed there was no threat to safety and officials were able to verify that the bus had been de-energized and disconnected from all electrical systems, officials were able to terminate the alert around 6 a.m. Thursday.

An alert is the second of four nuclear emergency classifications, with the fourth being the most dire. It is used to describe conditions that require emergency response agencies to be in a heightened state of readiness, but pose no threat to public safety.

Plant officials said that the plant continues to operate at 92% while they make the needed repairs.

The Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Station only has the one unit at this time. Plant officials have plans to add two others, but those plans are on hold at this time.

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