NRC Begins Special Inspection at River Bend Nuclear Power Plant

WASHINGTON - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection at the River Bend nuclear power plant to review circumstances related to the failure of five portable emergency diesel generators during testing. The plant, operated by Entergy Operations, is located in St. Francisville, La.

The generators are used to supply power to plant systems in the event of a prolonged loss of off-site electrical power coupled with a failure of the permanently installed emergency generators. These portable generators were acquired as part of the facility's safety enhancements mandated by the NRC following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi facility in Japan.

The three-member NRC team will develop a chronology of the test failures and evaluate the licensee's causal analyses and the adequacy of corrective actions.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will complete most of their work remotely. An inspection report documenting the team's findings will be publicly available within 45 days of the end of the inspection.