NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Southern Company has taken one nuclear reactor offline and reduced output from another at its Hatch plant in Georgia following damage to the region's electrical grid caused by Hurricane Helene. The company reported that the nuclear plant, jointly owned by Southern Co subsidiary Georgia Power and others, was not significantly damaged by the hurricane.
According to Georgia Power spokesperson John Kraft, the power grid experienced significant damage from the storm, prompting operational adjustments at Plant Hatch to maintain grid stability. Unit 1 has been taken offline, while Unit 2 is operating at reduced capacity. The company has not provided a timeline for restoring full operations.
As of Friday evening, Hurricane Helene has left over 3.5 million homes and businesses without power across the U.S. Southeast, including approximately 900,000 in Georgia. Kraft assured that the broader generation fleet remains capable of meeting customer power demands.
Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Leslie Adler and Nick Zieminski.