Isadora Rangel

isadora.rangel@tcpalm.com

RIVIERA BEACH — The Florida Power & Light Co. shut down its St. Lucie County Nuclear Power Plant in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, but no customers are expected to lose power because of it, a company spokesman said.

Federal rules require nuclear plants to be shut down at least one hour before hurricane winds hit the site, spokesman Peter Robbins said. FPL closed the Hutchinson Island plant at 11:15 a.m. and will reopen it after the category 4 storm is over. Its reopening might be delayed if access roads are blocked because rules require an evacuation route for a power plant to remain open, he said.

FPL is using electricity from other plants to serve the 2 million customers who get their power from the St. Lucie plant and, if needed, the company could buy power from other utilities, Robbins said. The company's Turkey Point plant south of Miami remained open because the area isn't getting hurricane winds, he said.

FPL: Up to 2.5 million expected to lose power in Hurricane Matthew

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission dispatched additional inspectors to the two nuclear plants as well as a North Carolina plant in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, and announced it would activate its regional incident response center in Atlanta, according to a news release.

Late Tuesday evening, the staff at the St. Lucie nuclear plant declared an "unusual event," which is the lowest of the regulatory commission's emergency classifications, based on the hurricane warning issued for the area.

The plant staff is also working through severe weather procedures, including ensuring that all loose debris and equipment has been removed or secured and conducting walkdowns of important systems and equipment, the news release stated.

The inspectors at the two plants verified that all the preparations have been completed, and the plants' emergency diesel generators are available to be used if the storm affects off-site power supplies.