LACEY – Oyster Creek Generating Station, the nation’s oldest functioning nuclear power plant, was taken offline Tuesday in order for operators to make repairs to its turbine control system.
The system monitors turbine conditions, speed, temperature and pressure, according to officials at Exelon Generation, which operates the plant.
“The Oyster Creek shutdown will not have an impact on electrical service to Exelon customers,” plant officials said in a news release.
This is the second shutdown in less than a month due to a fault in the turbine control system. The plant also underwent a nearly monthlong shutdown from September to October for scheduled refueling and maintenance.
In July, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) increased oversight of the plantafter determining that officials there violated safety rules regarding a faulty emergency back-up generator. NRC staff said the plant operators failed to have instructions for the replacement of a 22-year-old hose on the diesel generator that had degraded because of aging and heat.
Oyster Creek is scheduled to close permanently in December 2019, but environmentalists have called for an earlier decommissioning.
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