The Catabwa plant at Lake Wyle shut down yesterday (as you probably know). I can't find any updates in our local news (surprise!). Can someone recommend a site to find more information on the plant's status?

Thanks for the help!

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), January 01, 2000

Answers

Roland;

Here's the Catawba report off the national update.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- 2 CATAWBA 2 0 12/30/99 Hot Standby REACTOR TRIP FOR UNKNOWN REASONS. SEE EVENT 36551. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- sorry for the word wrap, widen your page. :)

-- Beached Whale (beached_whale@hotmail.com), January 01, 2000.

Whale,

Thanks, not much to go on, huh? Can you give me the link so I can monitor the site?

Thanks!

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), January 01, 2000.

The Charlotte Observer www.charlotte.com reported the story and said that they do not think it was Y2K related because another identical plant was still working. The Catawaba plant shut down before the roll over and the sources suggest that it had nothing to do with Y2k.

jack mcneary

-- jack mcneary (jmcneary@arborman.com), January 01, 2000.

I spoke to Duke Power in Charlotte, NC about the problems at Catawba #2 last night about 8 p.m. They said that they tripped off line on Thursday for reasons yet unknown, the safety systems worked correctly and that they would power up when it's considered safe to do so. That's all I know so far. After all that champagne last night, haven't ventured out to get the newspaper yet!

Dixie Chick

-- Dixie Chick (scsww@yahoo.com), January 01, 2000.

Published Saturday, January 1, 2000

Half of nuclear station on Lake Wylie shuts down

By SCOTT DODD

Half of Duke Power's Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie shut down Thursday evening, but company officials said they don't believe the problem is Y2K-related.

The plant's computer caused an automatic shutdown when it detected a problem in the Unit 2 reactor, which provides about 5 percent of Duke's total electricity output in the Carolinas.

No radioactive material was released, the company said.

"Right now they are in the process of determining what caused the unit to trip," spokesman Tom Shiel said Friday. "The fact that it happened yesterday would seem to indicate that it's not a Y2K problem."

The Catawba reactor was one of two in the United States that malfunctioned within 48 hours of the Year 2000 changeover. A transmission line error shut down a plant in Limerick, Pa., according to the U.S. Energy Department.

A third plant in Vogtle, Ga., has been off line since Monday for repair of a water heater.

"We are certain that all three are not related to Y2K," Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said. "These types of glitches happen sometimes once a week."

Mike Tuckman, who heads Duke's nuclear division, said the average reactor shuts down every year or two. In 1996, water from melting ice apparently caused an electrical failure that stopped one Catawba unit.

Until Thursday, Unit 2 had been running for 199 days without a problem, Tuckman said.

No one lost power because of the malfunction, and Friday was an unseasonably warm day with low energy usage.

A crew investigating the cause of the shutdown hadn't found it by Friday night.

"There are a million things that could cause a trip," Shiel said, from a wire short to pressure buildup.

Officials discounted Y2K as a cause, however, because the Catawba reactors are virtually identical, and Unit 1 was running fine Friday.

Overall, Duke officials said Friday was routine - except for the hundreds of extra employees working worldwide to ensure a smooth Y2K transition.

Seven international Duke Energy facilities from New Zealand to Saudi Arabia went through the transition long before midnight approached in the Carolinas, prompting confident smiles at the company's Charlotte headquarters.

"We've had absolutely no events whatsoever," Duke President Bill Coley said. "Not the slightest glitch.

Duke provides power to about 2 million customers in the Carolinas.

As expected, some outages were caused by everyday problems, such as a car that rammed a utility pole on Elizabeth Avenue in Charlotte, knocking power out to about 500 customers Friday afternoon.

http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/catawba0101.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Associated Press contributed to this article.

-- mmmm (mmmm@mmmm.com), January 01, 2000.

P.S. Happy New Year, Roland. I'm your neighbor in York County!

I'm glad all is well with the world so far. It was sorta nice yesterday to get the warm fuzzies as people all over the world celebrated the new millenium time zone by time zone. How often do we get to globally lay aside conflict, war, cultural differences, etc. and just for a brief time share in the awe and import of a unique moment we all lived to see together? Cool, huh?

May all stay well with you and those you love. (And may the shores of Lake Wylie stay "pollution" free!!!) :)

Dixie Chick

-- Dixie Chick (scsww@yahoo.com), January 01, 2000.

Roland,

Sorry just got back to this thread. Here's the link so you can keep an eye on Catawba: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/DAILY/psr.htm. They give daily updates and checking the site today found almost all plants are back to 100% except yours and Limerick, PA.

Here's the report for Catawba 2. NRC OPERATIONS CENTER PLANT STATUS REPORT FOR 01/02/2000 UNEVALUATED INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE FACILITY

Catawba 2 Power Plant York, SC

2 CATAWBA 2 %PWR: 0 12/30/99 Hot Standby * REACTOR TRIP ON 12/30/99 (EVENT #36551).

Title: Hot Standby Reactivity Condition (Keff): <= 0.99 Percent Rated Thermal Power: NA Average Reactor Coolant Temperature, T-avg: >=350

-- Beached Whale (beached_whale@hotmail.com), January 02, 2000.