TVA cuts power production at Browns Ferry
ATHENS — Production at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant was reduced significantly Friday as one reactor was taken off-line and the two other reactors continued to operate at half power.
Reactor number one was taken off-line when a leak in a temperature sensor on the main steam line was discovered during an inspection, Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman John Moulton said. He said it was not known how long it would take to get the reactor back online.
At the time the reactor was shutdown, the plant's three reactors were operating at half power as workers repaired two transformers that had failed and knocked out cooling towers.
Officials said the plant's electricity output was initially cut in half to prevent water released into the Tennessee River from exceeding temperature limits set by environmental regulators.
An electrical transformer at the north Alabama plant failed on Thursday, just four days after another transformer failed. The second breakdown left the plant without a backup, said Browns Ferry spokesman Jason Huffine.
