Drought could shut down South's nuclear plants and raise electric bills

Drought conditions have plagued the Southeast for months, and many of the region's lakes and rivers have receded to low levels. As a result, the region's nuclear power plants might have to shut down temporarily because they depend on those water sources for millions of gallons of cooling water daily, reports Mitch Weiss of The Associated Press. The temporary shutdowns of plants such as the McGuire Nuclear Station in the Lake Norman, N.C., area (at left in an AP photo by Jason E. Miczek) probably won't cause blackouts, but will spark bigger electric bills.

"An Associated Press analysis of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors found that 24 are in areas experiencing the most severe levels of drought," Weiss writes. "All but two are built on the shores of lakes and rivers and rely on submerged intake pipes to draw billions of gallons of water for use in cooling and condensing steam after it has turned the plants' turbines."

Weiss reports that 3 million customers of the four drought-affected commercial utilities rely on nuclear energy for their power and that 30 percent of the Tennessee Valley Authority's power is from nuclear plants. The TVA serves 8.7 million people. (Read more)