Exelon nuclear reactor shuts down unexpectedly in Limerick

    A malfunction led to the sudden shutdown of one of the nuclear reactors at Exelon’s Limerick Nuclear Generation Station early Sunday morning.

    Exelon said in a press release that Unit 2 shut down Sunday at 5:02 a.m. “after the turbine tripped following scheduled testing and maintenance on an electrical system in the non-nuclear section of the plant.”

    The company also said no one is hurt and the public should not be worried. Exelon is still determining the cause of the issue.

    While Unit 2 is down, about 1,200 megawatts of power won’t be attainable for the region’s electrical grid, according to April Schilpp, senior communications manager for Exelon Nuclear. 

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    Unit 2 also shut down in February because of problems with systems related to recirculating pumps, and remained down for more than 2 days, as reported in The Mercury.

    Keep an eye out for Susan’s Phillips’ story later today about nuclear power. 

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