NRC launches Special Inspection of Clinton nuclear plant following transformer failure

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) launched Monday a Special Inspection at the Nuclear Generating Station in Clinton, Illinois, to review the conditions surrounding the recent failure of a transformer and the subsequent manual shutdown of the reactor.

The two-member inspection team arrived at the plant, which is operated by Exelon Nuclear Generation Company. NRC inspectors will spend time both on and off-site gathering information about the event, assessing the technical details regarding the recent operational failure, evaluating the operation of equipment and reviewing the facility’s response to the incident.

Inspectors will also review the condition evaluation and corrective actions taken after a similar event that occurred in 2013 with another transformer.

After the conclusion of the inspection, the NRC will publish a report documenting the team’s findings, which will be publicly available.

The transformer failure, which occurred on Dec. 9, caused a loss of power to certain safety related equipment. Redundant safety systems remained available and operable, and other plant systems responded as expected. Workers installed a new transformer before the facility resumed operations.