Feds Notified After Equipment Fails At Peach Bottom: Exelon

Workers at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station found one component of the nuclear power plant's equipment had deteriorated when attempting to shut down a generator Monday morning, officials said. As a result, they notified federal officials and removed the piece from service.

The nuclear power plant is at the beginning of a planned outage for refueling and maintenance, Exelon, which owns Peach Bottom, said in a statement Monday.

Technicians will perform about 7,400 tests and inspections during weeklong outage. Crews will replace almost one-third of the reactor's fuel, according to Exelon. To do this work, it is necessary to shut off one of the units that generates power.

The questionable piece of equipment — "Unit 3" — had a part that was damaged to the point that crews had to use an alternate method for shutting down the system.

Based on standard procedure, officials at Peach Bottom notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission about what they described as an "unusual event."

Unit 2 will continue powering the plant's millions of customers.

"We provide electricity to more than 2.7 million customers," Site Vice President Patrick Navin said in a statement. "As winter approaches, it’s important we make these investments in maintenance and equipment upgrades to ensure we continue to run non-stop through the extreme cold temperatures."

Conducting the annual maintenance also gives a charge to the local economy; Exelon reports more than 1,400 tradespeople — such as supplemental electricians, pipe fitters, welders, carpenters and other laborers — have traveled to Delta, Pennsylvania, boosting business at local businesses in York, Peach Bottom and Delta.