Diablo Canyon Power Plant's Unit 2 Return to Full Power

Employees safely complete repairs on feedwater system

April 2, 2011

AVILA BEACH, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) operators safely returned the plant's Unit 2 to 100 percent power today at 2:57 p.m. after completing 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.

Unit 2 was safely shut down by plant operators on March 26, 2011 at 2:49 p.m. after operators were notified of the need to perform this work by sensitive plant monitoring equipment. The plant's monitoring equipment worked exactly as designed and operators handled the situation in accordance with their training and procedures.

Unit 1 continues to operate 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.