Thunderstorm forces Exelon’s LaSalle County nuclear units to shut down

US-based energy provider Exelon’s LaSalle County Generating Station units have automatically shut down during a severe thunderstorm.

The electric supply from the switchyard into the nuclear site was interrupted during the storm and both the units at the nuclear facility were shut down.

LaSalle Generating Station is situated about 75 miles southwest of Chicago near Marseilles, Illinois, US.

The plant has two units, which at full power can generate over 2,200MW of electricity around the clock. The power produced by the plant is enough to provide electricity to 2.3 million typical homes.

Shutdown at the plant was safe and without any untoward incident. The plant has been designed in such a way to close down automatically and safely in case of any electrical interruption.

The company is working to restore power to the switchyard, which is a large substation that supplies electricity to and from the plant.

In a release, the company stated that the shutdown will not affect the electrical service to consumers.