SC nuclear plant didn’t maintain key safety equipment for years, feds say
The V.C. Summer nuclear power plant north of Columbia failed for years to maintain a key piece of safety equipment that could help the plant continue running properly during an emergency, according to federal records and interviews with government inspectors.
The equipment is a turbine-driven pump that provides water to help keep things cool if an accident at the nuclear plant occurs. Cool water must be circulated to prevent atomic energy plants from overheating and releasing harmful radiation at the site and into surrounding communities.
Records show the pump experienced problems in August 2025 and again in November of that year because Dominion Energy, the nuclear plant’s owner, did not schedule and maintain parts of the pumping system, in one case for decades. That led to problems that could have been avoided if regular maintenance had occurred, federal officials said.
In one of the cases, maintenance did not occur for 20 years on part of the pump. In the other, maintenance wasn’t done for nine years on another part of the pump. In the latter case, problems were found after a fire in a generator control breaker at the V.C. Summer plant, records show. In both cases, maintenance should have been done regularly, federal officials say. The safety equipment is formally known as a turbine driven emergency feedwater pump.
Officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discussed the problems during an annual public meeting Thursday night in Jenkinsville to outline how well the plant complied with safety rules in 2025.
Overall, the plant operated safely.
But the pump problems are issues that Dominion Energy is having to address — and they come just a few years after the NRC noted the company’s failure to resolve problems with another part of the plant that also is designed to keep the nuclear reactor cool during an emergency.
Problems with the plant’s emergency backup diesel generators were flagged by the NRC in 2022 and 2023. In one of the cases, the plant’s operators failed for two decades to stop cracks and leaks in V.C. Summer’s backup diesel generator system, The State reported in 2023. Like the turbine driven pumps, the diesel generators are part of a backup system to keep the plant cool during emergencies.
In each of four cases dating to 2022, the NRC issued a “white’’ finding, a rare rating that notes safety concerns that need resolution. The most serious finding a nuclear plant can get is a red one, with the least serious a green finding. The second most serious violation is yellow. In the 2023 case, the NRC initially gave V.C. Summer a yellow finding, but later backed off after discussions with Dominion officials.
Nuclear safety advocates say the recent pattern of white findings is disturbing, even though the NRC and Dominion say the problems never put anyone in danger. White findings, while less serious than red and yellow findings, are not commonly handed out by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Only three were issued nationally last year. They are indicators of problems that need resolution.
“There seems to be a common thread — they’re not finding and fixing problems quickly enough,’’ said Dave Lochbaum, an environmentalist with years of expertise on atomic energy plant safety. “The NRC doesn’t like that. The NRC wants you to find it at the first opportunity and fix it right the first time.’’
NRC inspector Mac Read said one of the 2025 white findings is not final and could be changed to a less significant green rating, depending on what Dominion says. Dominion said in an email that it is working to improve but has operated safely.
“The finding the NRC referenced is related to the procedures used to perform maintenance on a pump in V.C. Summer’s auxiliary feed water system,’’ the company said in an email Thursday night. “There was no danger to the public. V.C. Summer has revised the procedures and implemented additional preventive maintenance practices to ensure the issue is thoroughly addressed.’’
The V.C. Summer nuclear plant, located on Lake Monticello about 25 miles north-northwest of Columbia, became operational in the early 1980s. It is one of four sites in South Carolina where plants produce atomic power for the electric grid.
Two new nuclear reactors were at one time to be built adjacent to the current Summer reactor, but power companies SCE&G and Santee Cooper pulled the plug in 2017 on the partially built project amid delays and unforeseen costs.
Some $9 billion had been spent when the project was shuttered. Ratepayers had been charged for the failed effort. Now, leaders in South Carolina are pushing to restart the stalled project to meet future energy needs. Santee Cooper is working with Brookfield Asset Management to complete the project.
