COURTESY PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION
PLYMOUTH – Workers at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station have discovered another equipment problem at the plant, a week after a separate problem forced the station to curb its operations.
Officials found a leak in a feedwater valve after reconnecting to the grid early Sunday morning. That valve has since been taken offline and other lines will be used to provide hot water to the reactor before repairs can be made.
Pilgrim was preemptively disconnected from the grid before last Thursday’s blizzard. The station has been plagued by unplanned storm-related shutdowns in recent years, which have in part led to the station’s safety rating being downgraded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2015.
Before the shutdown, Pilgrim was operating at reduced power after officials discovered a separate leak in a condenser tube connected to the system that is responsible for cooling the reactor. That program has since been repaired.
The station had reached 50 percent power as of Tuesday morning, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Pilgrim has not operated at full power since February 6.
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