It's been down since September - and they don't know when it will come back.
Nuclear energy is very variable and has to be backed up by fossil-fuel plants.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/crystal-river-nuclear-plant-repairs-to-take-longer-than-expected/1092923Crystal River nuclear plant repairs to take longer than expected
By Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, May 6, 2010
Repairs to the Crystal River nuclear plant will take longer than Progress Energy previously expected.
Instead of coming back online by midyear, the plant is expected to return to service in the third quarter, Progress Energy president and chief executive officer Bill Johnson said Wednesday.
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Executives said they expect insurance to cover much of the costs of repairs and replacement power needed while the nuclear plant is offline. The utility has other plants, some fired by natural gas, that it can bring online at times of peak demand.
Without going into detail, the company suggested it could seek a rate increase to recoup repair costs not covered by insurance.
So far, however, Progress Energy does not know what the total repair project will cost, it doesn't have a running tab on what replacement power has cost and can't say exactly how much insurance will pay, spokeswoman Wendy Horne said.
The company powered down the nuclear plant in September for a major maintenance project that was expected to be done by the end of December.
But shortly after the job began, workers discovered that part of the containment wall had separated into two layers.
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