The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating the failure of two transmission lines at Entergy’s Pilgrim nuclear station in Massachusetts, which forced the plant to shut down during last week’s blizzard.

The lines leading out of the plant failed at about 4 a.m. Tuesday, and service was restored two days later. The Plymouth power station remains shut down for maintenance work, an Entergy spokesman said. Entergy officials said there was no threat to public safety and that it is continuing to investigate.

More: Cape Cod Today

Scram at Entergy’s River Bend Plant Prompts Special NRC Inspection

An emergency shutdown and a series of subsequent pump failures at Entergy’s River Bend nuclear station near Baton Rouge, La., on Christmas morning has resulted in a special inspection by Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials.

The NRC said it was sending a team of inspectors to oversee Entergy’s analysis of a series of failures that required plant workers to manually align valves to restore normal water levels in the reactor vessel.

River Bend’s woes began when an electrical failure in a turbine valve triggered an automatic shutdown. A series of failures in feed-pump controls caused overly high water levels in the reactor vessel, and another pump failure and monitor failures led workers to use backup equipment to restore coolant to the proper height.

More: The Times-Picayune

Duke Ash Ponds Still Leaking Up to 3 Million Gallons a Day

Duke Energy, still cleaning up a disastrous discharge of coal ash from its Dan River plant, reported that its coal ash ponds across North Carolina may be leaking up to 3 million gallons a day.

According to filings with state regulators, Duke has identified 200 seeps at 14 of its coal-fired plants. Two of those plants — Asheville and Lee — leak up to 1 million gallons of ash-contaminated water daily.

Those leaks appear to be illegal under new state laws enacted after the Dan River disaster. That leaves Duke with two options: repair the leaks or include them in updated wastewater discharge permits. “Our objective is to include seeps in the permits so we can follow the appropriate monitoring protocol or next steps regulators prescribe,” Duke spokeswoman Erin Culbert said.

More: News & Observer

Duke Energy Spending on Lee Nuclear Station Approaches $45 Million

Duke Energy’s investment in its proposed W.S. Lee Nuclear Generating Station near Gaffney, S.C., continues to climb.

Duke said it spent nearly $45 million on the plant last year. Since Duke applied for a license in 2007 for the 2,234-MW plant, the company has spent $426.6 million, according to company filings. Duke expects to get a construction and operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year.

The company could file to recover the costs whether or not the plant is ultimately built, if regulators determine the costs are reasonable.

More: Charlotte Business Journal

Duke Exploring Storage Battery Technology, More Projects Coming

Duke Energy sees a future in utility-scale battery storage and said it already has six battery projects in operation.

Duke Energy Technology Development Manager Thomas Golden said in an interview with Smart Grid Today that the company is experimenting with various technologies, from chemical makeup to interconnection systems, to adapt battery storage for large utility systems.

“We believe the batteries are here to stay,” he said. One project is to install a storage battery to smooth out peaks from its growing solar generation fleet.

More:  Smart Grid Today (subscription required)

France’s UniStar Asks for Delay in Preparing Report for New Calvert Cliffs Reactor

Electricite de France’s UniStar Nuclear Energy, which has proposed building a third reactor at Exelon Nuclear’s Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby, Md., has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for more time to submit a Facility Safety Report.

The plans for a third Calvert Cliffs reactor go back to 2008, when then-partners Constellation Energy Group and EDF announced plans to build a new 1,600-MW reactor. Constellation has since merged with Exelon, and EDF purchased UniStar. EDF now owns the plans for the new reactor outright.

Its request for an extension to file the safety report indicates that the project is still alive.

More: Nuclear Street

NextEra Promises $60 Million in Savings for Hawaiian Electric Customers

NextEra told regulators that customers of Hawaiian Electric Companies will save $60 million if its acquisition of the company is approved.

NextEra said it will not seek a base-rate increase for at least four years after the acquisition. The company also vowed that it will not seek to recover any costs associated with the acquisition. It said it hopes to finalize the deal, pending regulatory approval, by the end of this year.

More: Pacific Business News

ALLETE Pays $168 Million for Majority Stake in US Water Services

ALLETE is spending $168 million to gain a majority stake in U.S. Water Services, an industrial water management company based in St. Michael, Minn., with operations throughout the U.S.

The company said it will gain an 87% ownership and plans to buy the remaining shares later.

ALLETE also owns Minnesota Power; Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin; ALLETE Clean Energy in Duluth; and BNI Coal in Center, N.D.

More: Star-Tribune