Indian Point 3 Shuts Down after ‘Electrical Disturbance’

20 Million people live or work within a 50-mile radius of 41-yo Indian Point NPP

Indian Point’s Unit 3 nuclear power plant shut down Monday evening around 7:20 p.m. following an electrical disturbance external to the plant, said the operator, Energy Nuclear.

The unit’s main electrical generator shut down as a protective measure following the disturbance, the cause of which is not immediately understood, said the operator.

“There was no release of radioactivity and no threat to the safety of workers or the public.”

Indian Point Energy Center

Indian Point Energy Center, in Buchanan, N.Y., houses two active nuclear power plants, unit 2 and unit 3, which together generate about 2,080 megawatts of electricity for New York City and Westchester County.

Unit 3 caught fire on May 9 [reportedly spilling about 25,000 of the transformer’s dielectric fluid] and returned to service May 24 following replacement of a main electrical transformer which had failed, according to the operator.

At least 9 incidents involving the two reactors have been reported since 1972, just five months after Indian Point 2 began operating.

Unit 2 is more than 41 years old and Unit 3 was commissioned about 40 years ago.

The average age of U.S. commercial reactors is about 34 years. The oldest operating reactors are Oyster Creek in New Jersey, and Nine Mile Point 1 in New York. Both entered commercial service on December 1, 1969, according to EIA.

Currently 104 commercial nuclear power plants operate on 64 sites in the 48 contiguous United States. Sixty-nine of the 104 are pressurized water reactors (PWR) and the remaining 35 are boiling water reactors (BWR).

Operating Nuclear Power Plants vs. Major Metropolitan Areas

Source: Prepared by CRS and the Library of Congress Geography and Maps Division based on U.S. Census Bureau data 2011.