Exelon Corp. finished upgrading equipment at a northern Illinois nuclear plant where a power failure caused a reactor to shut down two months ago.
The company replaced electrical insulators in the switchyards that help move power to and from the reactors at the Byron Generating Station, located about 95 miles northwest of Chicago.
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In January, an insulator in Unit 2 switchyard failed and interrupted power, causing the reactor to automatically shut down as a precaution.
While Unit 2 failed in January, earlier this month, a power interruption caused operators at Byron to declare an “unusual event,” officials said.
A failed insulator in the station’s switchyard also caused the loss of power to Unit 1, officials said.
Insulators are protective equipment that helps regulate the flow of electricity.
Officials took Unit 1 offline last week while upgrades wrapped up, and Unit 2 upgrades finished over the weekend, Exelon said. Both units are now back online at full power and generating electricity.