Hundreds of thousands are without power in the TVA service area this morning after tornadoes took out transmission lines and kicked a nuclear reactor offline.
TVA chief of operations Bill McCollum says in a video press release that the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in north Alabama lost external power. He says the emergency backup generators began working.
“The units are being shut down safely. All of the systems at the plant functioned as designed and normal procedures are being used to cool down the plant.”
TVA says restoring power to the Browns Ferry plant is the top priority. Next is getting electricity to customers like hospitals and nursing homes.
McCollum says it could be days or even weeks before some customers get power. He says so far it’s been impossible or unsafe to fully assess the damage. A statement from TVA says the utility has never experienced such a major weather event.
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