Nuclear Plant OKd to Restart in Connecticut

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will allow Connecticut’s Millstone nuclear power plant to start producing electricity again, more than two years after it was shut down for licensing violations.

After a lengthy review, the commission said Monday it will allow Unit 3--the largest and newest of the three reactors at the Waterford, Conn., complex--to start generating power again once NRC staffers sign off on some final technical details.

It is likely to take several weeks to bring the plant up to full capacity once it restarts.

“The commission’s action does not mean that resumption of operations is imminent,” the NRC said in a statement. “Some open technical matters, including some testing and one license amendment, remain to be resolved before Millstone Unit 3 can proceed to restart.”

But once those matters are resolved, the utility will resume operations “in a gradual, deliberate manner,” it said. The NRC plans around-the-clock monitoring by inspectors on site in the plant control room during key aspects of the restart process.

The decision comes at the start of summer, the time of peak power demand. Supplies in New England have been tight during the summer months since the Northeast Utilities’ complex was shut down in 1996 for flagrant violations that included removing the entire reactor core to speed up refueling.

The commission’s decision came despite concerns from Millstone’s neighbors and nuclear watchdogs that the utility hasn’t yet proved it can run the plant safely and address workers’ concerns.

Northeast Utilities is New England’s largest utility, serving 1.7 million people in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.