St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 Returns to Full Power After Control Rods Unexpectedly Dropped into Reactor Core

Florida Power & Light (FPL) stated that St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 has returned to 100% generating capacity after being manually shut down last week due to equipment issues. The unit was manually shut down by operators on Wednesday to facilitate inspections and repairs.

According to information from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the incident was caused by three control rods dropping into the reactor core. FPL stated that the event posed no threat to the public or plant employees and caused no customer power outages. The cause of the equipment malfunction remains under investigation.

St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant is located near St. Lucie County, Florida. Forrest Brandon, a local resident living along the Indian River Lagoon with a view of the plant buildings, said he felt reassured by the timely response of the staff. He also believed that the company's public disclosure of the incident helped reduce public concerns.

Donald Wall, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Florida, said there is no need for nearby residents to panic. He noted that the plant staff's decision to shut down the unit in accordance with safety procedures reflects a prudent approach to handling equipment anomalies at a nuclear power plant. Wall also pointed out that nuclear power plants are designed and operated with multiple layers of safety protection measures.

However, Wall also mentioned that an NRC report indicated that in November 2024, St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 experienced an incident in which three control rods dropped during maintenance of the control rod drive system, leading to a manual shutdown. He believes further confirmation is needed to determine whether there is a common cause between the two events. FPL has not yet disclosed the specific cause of this equipment issue.