PPL resumed power generation at unit 2 of its Susquehanna nuclear plant Tuesday after shutting it down March 20 to repair a valve on a pump.
The problem emerged when the utility ramped up power at the Pennsylvania reactor last week following an earlier shutdown to conduct a turbine blade inspection. Blade cracking has been a recurrent problem at the plant in recent years and PPL has instituted a regular inspection schedule. The most recent inspection did not turn up any cracked blades, according to a company release, but several dozen blades were replaced as a precautionary measure.
The utility did not specify which pump required repair following the outage, and the malfunction did not require the plant to file an event report with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A PPL release described it as a "non-safety-related water supply pump."
Susquehanna operates two General Electric type 4 boiling water reactors that together generate about 2,600 megawatts. Unit 1 is operating normally, and unit 2 was at 34 percent power Wednesday, according to the NRC.