Diablo Canyon Power Plant Shuts Unit 2 for Necessary Work in Feedwater System

Unit 1 Continues to Operate Safely at 100% Power

March 26, 2012

AVILA BEACH, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) Unit 2 was safely shut down by plant operators on March 26, 2011 at 2:49 p.m. in order to perform necessary work on a feedwater pump.

The feedwater pump is located in the turbine building, which is on the non-nuclear or secondary side of the plant. It is part of the system that supplies water to the unit's steam generators.

Operators were alerted to the need to perform this work by sensitive plant monitoring equipment. When that equipment activated, the operators took the unit offline to perform work associated with the feedwater pump. The plant's monitoring equipment worked exactly as designed and operators followed their procedures and handled the situation in accordance with their training.

Unit 2 will remain offline until the repairs are completed. Unit 1 is operating at full power.

DCPP is a nuclear power plant owned and operated by PG&E. Its two units together produce roughly 2,300 megawatts of greenhouse-gas-free electricity, which is enough to meet the needs of three million homes in Central and Northern California.