Oyster Creek N-plant still hopes to operate at 100 percent soon

Oyster Creek N-plant still hopes to operate at 100 percent soon

Oyster Creek N-plant still hopes to operate at 100 percent soon
By DAVID BENSON Staff Writer, (609) 272-7206
Published: Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The Oyster Creek nuclear generating station is still operating at 70 percent of power, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. But AmerGen hopes to be back at 100 percent in order to maximize profits in the developing heat wave, when consumers crank up the air conditioning.

The nuclear power plant had a forced shutdown about two weeks ago when an electrical glitch took out one of the reactor’s three feedwater pumps. While the Oyster Creek plant can operate with only two pumps, spokeswoman Leslie Cifelli said, losing one suddenly caused the plant to shut down.

Last week, workers managed to bring the nuclear plant back online, but the replacement pump vibrated. That meant they couldn’t take the facility to 100 percent power.

“Since then, they’ve been trying to get a third pump so they can get back up to full power,” said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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