Operators at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant near Berwick manually shutdown the Unit 1 reactor around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (2/25) in anticipation of a loss of vacuum in the unit's main condenser.

"The unit was shutdown when fluctuations in a system that removes gases from the condenser caused a reduction in vacuum," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.'s special assistant to the president for Susquehanna. The condenser removes heat from steam leaving the unit's main turbine.

The unit is expected to be shut down for about a week while plant personnel make any necessary repairs and do maintenance items that can only be performed while the unit is shutdown, Woodeshick said.

Before the shutdown, Unit 1 had operated continuously for more than 100 days, he added. Unit 2 at the plant continues to operate at full power.

The Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about five miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PP&L and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc.