New Hampshire Nuclear Unit Remains Offline Due to Leak

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, which is owned by FPL Energy Seabrook, LLC (88.2%) (NYIS:FPL) and Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (11.6%) (NYIS:MMWEC), shut down Unit 01 October 1, 2006, for a scheduled refueling, generator rewind and a 30% uprate. The unit was scheduled to return on November 1, 2006, but was delayed due to several issues.

The unit’s first issue was during restart, the gas and oil flow pressure was below value and had become difficult to balance and align. The latest issue, which has caused the unit to remain offline, is a problem with seal leaks that is affecting two of the main bearings. The seals have leaked into the bearings and plant officials are indicating that there is a possibility that the rotor might need to be pulled depending on the severity of damage to the bearings.

Should FPL decide to pull the rotor, it would cause the unit to be down for an extended amount of time, possibly not returning the unit to service until after the scheduled end date of November 9th. Plant officials have stated that the decision to pull the rotor has not yet been made, but are speculating that if the rotor is not pulled the unit might possibly return online as scheduled Thursday, November 9, 2006, or shortly thereafter. Seabrook Nuclear Power Station is a 1,242-megawatt nuclear power plant located in Seabrook, New Hampshire. Seabrook Nuclear began operation in July 1990.

FPL Energy is a leading clean energy provider with natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants in operation across the nation. FPL Energy is a subsidiary of FPL Group, Incorporated, one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services. Its portfolio of facilities totals more than 12,900 net megawatts of generating capacity spread across 20 states.

MMWEC is the joint action agency for the consumer-owned, municipal utilities of Massachusetts, providing a wide range of power supply, financial, and other services to meet the common needs of its member and project participant municipal utilities.

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