RICHLAND — The only nuclear power plant in Washington is back online after a long outage for refueling and equipment upgrades.
The Tri-City Herald reported the Columbia Generating Station reconnected Tuesday to the Northwest power grid.
The Energy Northwest nuclear plant near Richland was expected to be off line for about 80 days when the outage began April 6. The outage lasted more than twice as long because of problems replacing the condenser, which turns turbine steam back into water for re-use.
The plant generates enough electricity for about 1 million homes. That power is valued at more than $1 million a day.
The 26-year-old nuclear plant accounts for about 3 percent of region’s power supply through the Bonneville Power Administration.
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