SOUTHPORT, N.C. – Officials at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant declared an Alert today at 1:26 p.m. due to damage in an electrical panel. The Alert was downgraded to an Unusual Event classification at 5:30 p.m. as plant operators realigned plant equipment.
Operators safely shut down unit 1. Unit 2 continues to operate at 100 percent power, unaffected by this event. All appropriate federal, state and local officials were notified, and Brunswick plant emergency response facilities were staffed. There was no impact to the health and safety of the public or employees.
An Unusual Event is the lowest of four nuclear emergency classifications. This classification describes a condition or event that is outside of normal plant operations, but poses no threat to public safety. An Alert is the second in increasing significance of four nuclear emergency classifications. This classification is used to describe conditions that require emergency response agencies to be in a heightened state of readiness, but pose no threat to public safety.
The Brunswick Nuclear Plant is a two-unit power plant located near Southport, N.C. The plant has a generating capacity of 1,870 megawatts. Brunswick’s unit 2 began commercial operation in 1975 and unit 1 in 1977.
Duke Energy Progress owns nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix provides about 12,000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.5 million customers in a 32,000-square-mile service area of North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.3 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately 23 million people. Its Commercial Portfolio and International business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.