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BRATTLEBORO -- Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is back up to 100-percent power production after repairs were made to one of the two motor generators that control the reactor's power by varying the flow of the reactor cooling water.
According to Rob Williams, spokesman for Yankee, the problem was due to faulty electrical connections in the unit, which is about half the size of a bus.
On June 18, smoke was detected in the reactor building. The smoke was traced to the motor generator, which was shut down, causing the reactor to reduce power output to 38 percent.
The motor generator was eventually removed and shipped out for off-site repairs where the faulty electrical connections were discovered.
The reactor reached full power on the night of July 2.
Despite the power reduction, Yankee has been producing electricity for 245 days, or since its last refueling outage, said Williams.
This was the second time in the past nine months the nuclear reactor has had to reduce its power output because of faulty generator sets.
In September, the other motor generator malfunctioned, which caused the reactor to reduce its output to 46 percent.
