The North Anna Power Station's two nuclear reactors shut down Tuesday in an automatic response to the 5.8 magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was located in nearby Mineral, Va. Although the two reactors are still out of operation, four emergency diesel generators began supplying the 2,000 megawatts of electricity to the nearly half-million homes and 2.4 million Dominion customers it serves to Charlottesville and the surrounding area, said Jim Norvelle, spokesperson for Dominion Resources, Inc.
Although the diesel generators should be able to run safety measures which prevent a nuclear meltdown, one of the four reactors in the backup system leaked water from the radiator and was subsequently shut down. The plant was forced to rely on a spare diesel generator, but the new team of four generators is performing as designed, Norvelle said.
There will be no impact on the residents of Charlottesville in terms of costs or energy supply, Norvelle said.
The earthquake did not cause any damage to the reactors or to the power station. Rather, a loss of electricity from the on-site electric substation to the power station caused the automatic shutdown as the plant could not access grid power. The emergency "alert" status, which went into effect immediately, was removed yesterday after grid power was restored.
"Once electricity goes onto the grid, it flows to where it is needed," Norvelle said. "It doesn't go to a specific house."
To keep supplying electricity, North Anna is borrowing from other power stations and purchasing electricity off the transmission grid. Having to borrow and buy electricity is not an abnormal occurrence, however. On Sundays at North Anna Power Station, for example, it is cheaper for the plant to buy from the grid than to produce it.
"This is not what it was when back in July on extremely hot days our customers demanded a record amount of electricity from us," Norvelle said.
The Surry Power Station in Virginia, as well as 12 other nuclear power plants affected by the earthquake, declared a state of "unusual events," the lowest of four emergency levels in plant safety, but continued to operate, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The North Anna Power Station, constructed in the late 1970s, reacted "exactly as it is designed. It shut down safely and operated safely," Norvelle added.
So as not to affect the market price of electricity, Dominion will not announce the date the two reactors are expected to resume normal function. Because of required inspections, the announcement likely will not be made for several days, McIntyre said.
Read More
Administrators and faculty paint conflicting pictures of May 4 encampment clearing
By Cecilia Mould | 1 hours agoThe details contested between the town halls included the clarity of the University’s tent policy and the presence of suspicious individuals at the encampment.
Faculty Senate calls for an external review of May 4 clearing of encampment
By Priya Kommu | 1 hours agoSenators had questions about the lack of direct communication between University administrators and the students and faculty present at the encampment.
University's last minute update to EHS tent regulations document creates confusion, frustration
By Arshiya Pant | 2 hours agoRyan said that he did not believe there was confusion among protesters about the permissibility of tents due to warnings from University officials on several occasions to remove tents.
