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Nuclear reactor shuts down at Xcel Prairie Island

plant after 'unusual event'
Xcel says a malfunctioning transformer set off a re alarm on May 27, triggering an automatic
shutdown of its unit 2 reactor.

Author: Dana Thiede

Published: 12:12 PM CDT May 31, 2023

Updated: 12:35 PM CDT May 31, 2023

RED WING, Minn. — Xcel Energy con rms that its Prairie Island Nuclear Plant is operating on
just one of two reactors after an incident over the weekend triggered the other to automatically
shut down.

Both Xcel and the city of Red Wing say operators of the plant at Prairie Island declared a
"Noti cation of Unusual Event" just after 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27. The noti cation was made
after a transformer malfunctioned, setting off a re alarm at the unit 2 reactor "that could not be
veri ed within 15 minutes."

The alarm, in turn, triggered an automatic shutdown of the reactor. Xcel says operators were
soon able to con rm there was no re or additional issue involving unit 2. The company says the
unit 1 reactor continued to operate normally throughout the incident, and customers' electric
service was not interrupted.

"A Noti cation of Unusual Event is the lowest of four emergency classi cations established by
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission," reads an Xcel news release on the incident. "The
declaration indicates a potential reduction in the level of safety at the plant but no threat to public
safety. The declaration’s purpose is to have the plant’s operating staff reach a state of readiness
for emergency response if necessary."

Xcel says unit 2 remains powered down while repairs are made to the malfunctioning
transformer that instigated the shutdown, and standard procedures required to restart a nuclear
reactor are completed. It is expected to be back online later this week.

The incident at Prairie Island isn't the only one Xcel Energy has had to deal with in recent
months. In late March Xcel was forced to temporarily power down its Monticello plant following
the discovery of a faulty pipe that was leaking water contamination with tritium, a radioactive
isotope of hydrogen.