Reactors still down after massive Florida power outage: officials
MIAMI (AFP) — Power officials continued their efforts Wednesday to revive two crippled nuclear reactors in southern Florida, one day after a massive blackout darkened millions of homes across the state.
"The reactors still are not running," said Karen Visepo, spokeswoman for Florida Power and Light, the company responsible for providing power in southern Florida.
The disabled reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant were unlikely to cause new blackouts, she said, but workers labored feverishly to get them operating again.
"Getting them up and running again is a slow process," Visepo said.
Tuesday's monster power outage left millions of people in southern Florida bereft of electricity for several hours.
Power was out Tuesday across wide swathe of Florida, from Miami in the south to up Daytona Beach mid-state, causing traffic jams, forcing schools to lock down, and prompting stores to close.
Officials said the outage was caused by a malfunctioning disconnect switch at a power substation near Miami.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a statement it was looking into possible violations of federal rules, as it consulted with other US agencies.
The outage was the country's biggest since August 2003, when about 50 million people were left without power across the northeastern United States and Canada, plunging New York City into darkness and halting its subway network.
