The Region - News from Feb. 23, 1987

The Unit 1 reactor at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant near San Luis Obispo automatically shut down while being returned to full power after adjustments to a monitoring system, officials said. The shutdown was caused by a high water level in a steam generator, not the monitoring system problem, according to Ron Weinberg, a Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman, and Mark Padovan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s resident inspector. Operators were returning the unit to full power when the water in the steam generator caused the shutdown at 29% power, Padovan said. The inspector said it is typical for water levels to be difficult to control when power is under 30%. The steam generators are not part of the water system that cools the reactor but use heat from that system to drive turbines, Padovan said.