NRC Gives Dominion OK to Restart North Anna Power Station

Dominion Virginia Power today began the restart of North Anna Power Station after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted permission. The nuclear power plant has been offline since the Aug. 23 earthquake that occured near Mineral, Virginia.

North Anna Power Station's two nuclear reactors automatically shut down after the 5.8-magnitude earthquake caused peak ground movement greater than what the plant was designed for. 

Multiple inspections performed by both Dominion and federal regulators show that North Anna did not suffer any functional damage and that it could be restarted safely. Dominion has spent more than 100,000 hours and $21 million in inspection, testing and evaluation of the plant.

“Dominion has always placed safety at the forefront of everything they do in Louisa. After weeks of costly and time consuming testing, it’s great to know that the NRC has given the go-ahead to power up units 1 & 2 at the North Anna Power Station. Dominion is a genuine corporate & community partner,” said Andy Wade, Louisa County's Economic Development Director.

Control room operators, under the oversight of both Dominion nuclear officials and NRC inspectors, have initiated the restart process for Unit 1 of the power station. Dominion will first bring Unit 1 on line safely; then the company will begin the same process with Unit 2. Dominion expects that it will take about 10 days for North Anna to be fully operational. 

After restart, per the agreement with the NRC, Dominion will perform a number of actions to analyze and confirm the power station's capability to withstand future seismic events.