Transformer fire led to emergency alert at Georgia’s largest nuclear plant

Officials issued an emergency alert at Georgia’s largest nuclear plant Tuesday afternoon after a small transformer fire.

According to Georgia Power Co., the alert was issued at 12 p.m. ET for a fire at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia. A spokesperson for the energy company, John Kraft, told the Associated Press (AP) that the fire impacted a transformer that supplies electricity to one of the plant’s units. The alert was issued for Units 1 and 2 at the plant.

The fire and alert were not a threat to public safety, per Georgia Power Co.’s press release on the matter. Officials fully extinguished the fire and the alert was lifted at 2:36 p.m. ET.

A spokesperson for Georgia Power told Newsweek over the phone Tuesday that no injuries occurred in connection to the fire and that there was no risk to the reactor units under the alert or to the plant itself.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), which regulates civilian use of nuclear materials, has four classifications for emergencies at commercial nuclear power plants. An “alert” is the second-least serious category, above “notification of unusual event.”

USNRC spokesperson Dave Gasperson told AP that the fire at the Alvin W. Vogtle plant “did not affect any of the plant’s operating systems.” Georgia Power said in a press release earlier in the day that the alert meant that an event occurred that reduced the plant’s safety level but that no action was needed to be taken by the public.

“Georgia Power’s top priority is the safety of the public and employees at the plant,” the company said in an alert to its website. “We are committed to the safe operation of our nuclear generating facility.”

While Georgia Power holds the most control, the Alvin W. Vogtle plant is also partially owned by Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities.

The units where the alert was issued on Tuesday were first built in August 1976. Commercial operation on the units began in June 1987 and May 1989, per Georgia Power’s website. The units can generate up to 2,430 megawatts of power. According to AP, if the older units lose primary electricity from the outside grid as well as backup electricity from a diesel generator, the reactors could overheat and melt.

Commercial operations recently began at units 3 and 4 at the Vogtle plant as well, which were first built in June 2009. Operations at Unit 3 started in July 2023 and Unit 4 began running on April 29, 2024. The units have the capacity to generate 2,234 megawatts of power. AP said that the newer units are designed to avoid a meltdown if power is lost.