Entergy to Briefly Remove Indian Point 3 from Service for Minor Repair

Buchanan, New York—The Indian Point 3 nuclear power plant will be removed from service at about 4:00 a.m. tomorrow to allow workers to repair the plant's voltage regulator in a non-nuclear area of the plant. The regulator ensures electricity produced in the main generator is transmitted to the plant's two main transformers at 22,000 volts. The transformers, which are located outside the plant's turbine building, then increase voltage to 345,000 volts for transmission onto the area's electric grid.

The problem may be related to the plant's most recent April-6 shutdown, but can only be detected while the plant's main generator is producing electricity at operating levels that can not be achieved by pre-operational testing of this non-safety related equipment.

This will be the plant's third shutdown since returning from a refueling outage in March. Before the refueling, the plant had operated continuously for 228 days.

Indian Point 2 is unaffected by the shutdown and is operating at full power.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local public officials are being notified.

The plants together produce about 2,000 megawatts of electricity, approximately the amount used by two million homes.

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