By Associated Press
Athens AL – Production at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant has been reduced significantly as one reactor was taken offline and two others continued to operate at half power.
Tennessee valley spokesman John Moulton says reactor number one was taken off-line when a leak in a temperature sensor on the main steam line was discovered during an inspection. Moulton says it's not known how long it will take to get the reactor back online.
The plant's three reactors had been operating at half power as workers repaired two transformers that failed and knocked out cooling towers.
Officials said the plant's electricity output was initially cut in half to prevent water released into the Tennessee River from exceeding temperature limits set by environmental regulators.
An electrical transformer at the north Alabama plant failed on Thursday, just four days after another transformer failed. Browns Ferry spokesman Jason Huffine says the second breakdown left the plant without a backup.