South Texas Project Nuclear Station to Shut Down Unit 1 for Repairs

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The South Texas Project Nuclear Station, which is located in Wadsworth, Texas, will shut down its 1,280-megawatt (MW) Unit 1 on October 1, 2013. The station is owned by South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (Wadsworth) (STPNOC).

Plant officials said that an extraction bellow failed on a steam line and has since caused expansion joint issues. They will change out the single-ply bellow for double-ply bellows to correct the problem. Officials have reduced the load to about 87% while they continue to investigate. The unit will remain at the current level until it is brought offline for repair. Officials said that they hope to return the unit to full capacity by October 12, pending additional delays.

The South Texas Project Nuclear Station has two units that generate a capacity of 2,599 megawatts when at full load. Unit 2 will remain online at full-load capacity.

The company manages the South Texas Project Electric Generating Station on a 12,220-acre site near Bay City, Texas. The nuclear power plant's two reactors, which went into operation in 1988 and in 1989, can produce up to 2,700 MW of electricity and serve more than 2 million homes in Texas. The company is jointly owned by NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG), CPS Energy and Austin Energy. STPNOC accounts for about 7.5% of the power consumed in Texas.

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