NRC tags Prairie Island plant with safety violation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has officially cited Prairie Island nuclear plant for a safety issue regarding battery chargers, officials said Wednesday.

The “white” rating, indicating low to moderate safety significance, stems from an issue discovered in Unit 1's safety-related battery chargers. The chargers were "found to have the potential of not performing their safety functions under certain event scenarios" including when incoming voltage is lower than normal, the NRC said.

Xcel Energy contested the preliminary rating, meeting with NRC officials last month. The company has until Sept. 16 to contest the official finding.

The NRC characterizes safety issues on a color scale. Green is the lowest, followed by white. Those posing more serious safety concerns can be tagged with a "yellow" or "red" rating.

Prairie Island’s white rating will mean additional NRC oversight, officials said.

For more on this story, see Saturday’s edition of the R-E.

Tags: prairie island, nuclear plant, news, energy, minnesota