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The company said it shifted electricity generated at other Duke power plants to cover the Harris shutdown. That, too, is part of the nuclear power business, one that consumers rarely notice. One of the two reactors at Duke Energy's Brunswick nuclear plant near Wilmington was shut down for refueling for 64 days through March and April and took almost two more weeks to reach full power, Duke Energy said. The second Brunswick reactor was shut down for 10 days in May to fix a seal on a pump that circulates cooling water, spokeswoman Rita Sipe said. "Just like with a car, there are times when we need to remove a unit from service for a short time period to complete maintenance work that cannot be accomplished while the unit is operating," Sipe said, noting that mechanics can't do valve work on a car while its running. Duke Energy's operating subsidiaries, which each have territories that serve parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, depend heavily on nuclear energy. The Harris plant is operated by Duke Energy Progress, which includes big parts of eastern North and South Carolina. Nuclear plants produced 42 percent of its electricity in the first quarter of this year. That's after plant managers managed to crank up output to 93 percent of capacity from 73 percent during the same period in 2012. Half the electricity generated by Duke Energy Carolina -- which serves most of North Carolina west of Durham and Upstate South Carolina
-- came from nuclear plants in the first quarter of this year even as power generated from coal, oil, gas, and hydro all saw big output jumps. Its nuclear plants operated at 99 percent of capacity during this year's first three months. The average capacity for U.S. nuclear plants was 86 percent in 2012, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade and lobbying group.
[Associated
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