Posted on 07/22/2004 12:58:02 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
FOLSOM, Calif. (AP) - As electricity grid managers prepared for another day of high energy demand Thursday, one of two units at a nuclear power plant was shut down so workers could fix a leaky pipe, cutting 1,100-megawatts of electricity from the state power grid. One of the units at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County was shut down after workers found a crack in a pipe that delivers water to cool a pump, said David Proulx, a senior inspector with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The water was not involved in reactor cooling and there was no threat of radioactive contamination, Proulx said.
"I can't overemphasize that this is clean water," Proulx said.
The two units at the plant normally produce 2,212 megawatts of electricity. One megawatt is approximately enough electricity for 750 homes.
There was no estimate of how long the unit would be off line.
The plant's owner, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., didn't immediately return a call from a reporter seeking comment.
The loss of electricity came a day after California set another record for electricity consumption - reaching 44,360 megawatts Wednesday, said Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the Independent System Operator, which manages much of the state's power grid.
Wednesday was the third day in a row that California broke records for electricity use, as air conditioners continued to provide relief from above-average temperatures blanketing most of the state. Temperatures in the Sacramento-area were forecast to top 100 again Thursday, but McCorkle said grid managers didn't expect electricity use to top Wednesday's record.
The good news Thursday was that a "nice layer of fog" rolled into the Bay Area, she said, dropping temperatures by a few degrees.
"Shaving a couple degrees off doesn't sound like a lot, but it means 400 or 500 megawatts that we don't have to line up," McCorkle said.
Power grid managers don't expect the high electricity demand to trigger a repeat of the blackouts that hit the state in 2001. More power plants have been built around California since then to prevent a repeat.
Until Monday, the previous peak-demand record had stood since 1999.
OMG!!! Here it goes...
Or are they setting up the suppliers for another round of confrontational supply negotiations?
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED SHUTDOWN: NON-VITAL COMPONENT COOLING WATER LEAK INSIDE CONTAINMENT
"On July 21, 2004, with Unit 1 operating in Mode 1 (Power Operation) at approximately 100 percent power, a non-vital component cooling water (CCW) leak was identified inside containment. It was conservatively concluded that the leak could potentially disable both vital CCW loops, and thus the LCO for Technical Specification (TS) 3.7.7 "Vital CCW System" would not be met. Given there is no associated action for both vital loops inoperable, operators entered TS 3.0.3 at 1900 PDT, a unit shutdown was commenced at 20:20 PDT.
"The leak was identified at a cracked weld to the RCP 1-3 lube oil cooler, and is estimated at approximately 0.1 gallons per minute. While the leak is in the non-vital CCW loop and is stable, not currently a challenge to the function of the CCW system, and is not damaging plant equipment, based on the potential for the condition to rapidly degrade under loading such as a seismic event, operators applied TS 3.7.7.
"It is planned to place Unit 1 in Mode 3 (Hot Standby), restore both vital CCW loops to OPERABLE status by isolating the CCW supply to the RCP 1-3 lube oil cooler, and exit TS 3.0.3. The unit will be returned to service following repair of the cracked weld."
Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) 1-3 CCW pipe diameter is 3 inches. Leak was first noticed by increasing containment sump level. Personnel entered containment and discovered the cracked weld on the 3 inch CCW piping. The maximum leak if the CCW pipe completely shared off would be greater than 200 gallons per minute (CCW system can handle a maximum leak rate of approximately 200 gallons per minute). The other three Reactor Coolant Pump CCW lube oil cooling piping were checked and no leaks were discovered.
All emergency core cooling systems and the emergency diesel generators are fully operable if needed. The electrical grid is also stable. At 2357 PDT Unit 1 was at a power at a level of 50% and decreasing.
The NRC Resident Inspector was notified of this event by the licensee.
I'm assuming that you haven't responded because your power is out.
From 0000-2400 the COI (Path 66) will be limited to 4,330 MW north to south and 2,450 MW south to north due to area resource maintenance, Sylmar Converters #1 & #2.
From 0000-2400 the PDCI is limited to 2,990 MW north to south and 1,070 south to north due to Celilo Converters #3 & #4.
From 0000-2400 Path 26 is limited to 2,500 MW north to south and 3,000 MW south to north due to the Diablo Unit outage and area resource limitations.
From 0000-2400 Path 15 is limited to 1,275 MS [sic] north to south and 3,450 MW south to north due to the Diablo Unit outage and area resource limitations.
From 0000-2400 the Path 44 (South of SONGS) is limited to 1,680 MW north to south due to tielines 23021 and 23022 contingency.
We have plenty of large rocks here in North Carolina, but there is no way to get them to your front yard.
Thanks for the heads up.
We're shutting down the only nuclear power plant in California at a time when China announced plans to build MORE nuclear power plants. If the enviro wackos had allowed us to construct 5 to 10 plants a decade or two ago, we would have had plenty of excess generating electric capacity with NO environmental pollution. Instead we face power shortages.
I wasn't home to notice anything, but I don't think we lost power... I get mine from SCE...
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