11:22 02Aug2001 RSF-Ill. Quad Cities 2 nuke shut after lightning strike

    NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Exelon Nuclear said Thursday a lightning strike at the Quad Cities plant in Cordova, Ill. caused a fire in unit 2's main transformer that caused the 789-megawatt (MW) unit to shut down.
    Exelon said in a statement that the fire was quickly extinguished at 8:45 a.m. Central Time by the site's fire brigade and the Cordova Fire Department. The lightning strike occurred at about 8:15 a.m.
    With the loss of the off-site power during the event, Exelon declared an "Unusual Event" at 8:23 a.m. An Unusual Event is the lowest of four emergency classifications used by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to categorize events at commercial nuclear power plants.
    Exelon said there were no injuries and no potential for a radioactivity release as a result of the fire. The main transformer is located outside the plant.
    Exelon said the adjacent 789-MW unit 1 continues to operate at a slightly reduced power level.
    --Scott DiSavino, New York Power Desk, +646-223-6072, fax +646-223-6079, e-mail scott.disavino@reuters.com 
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 Thursday, 02 August 2001 11:22:31
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