Reactor Unit 1 of the Cook nuclear power plant is offline after an issue noticed by crews on Sunday. Plant spokesperson Bill Downey tells us there was a trip of one of the reactor’s four coolant pump motors. Plant operators followed proper protocols to safely remove the reactor from service and place the unit in a stable condition. Downey says Unit 2 remains at full power.
“Power to our customers and all the customer base here in Michigan and Indiana, no service issues are expected, and even though we don’t give a timeline for getting back online, it’s not expected to be very long before we’re able to get back up and running with Unit 1,” Downey said.
Each of Cook’s two reactors has four reactor coolant pumps. The pumps provide coolant flow to remove and transfer heat generated in the reactor core to the steam generators, which create steam to power the turbine generator. Downey says when a problem is detected with any of a reactor’s four coolant pumps, an automatic shutdown of the reactor occurs. He says the public was never in any danger.
