Fermi 2 shuts down for repair work

The Fermi 2 nuclear power plant remains off line after DTE Energy stopped its operation on Thursday.

The plant in Monroe County was shut down for repairs to its condenser, DTE Energy officials said, adding that the work is standard maintenance.

“Operators shut down the plant, per procedure, based on monitoring of the plant’s condenser,” the utility said in a statement. “We constantly monitor condenser performance and if performance goes outside certain parameters, operators safely shut down the plant. It is a conservative approach that ensures the safety of the plant and the public.”

The plant shutdown will not impact service to customers, said Stephen Tait, a DTE spokesperson, in an email.

Tait said the company does not provide outage durations due to “market considerations.”

The utility said it will restart and increase power back to 100% once the repairs are complete.

The shutdown is the latest in a series of service interruptions at the nuclear power plant. The facility was offline for nearly three weeks starting in late August last year because of a coolant leak. In early August, the plant reduced power before shutting down for three days to replace a turbine in the plant’s condenser system. The plant also closed for three months in 2022 for refueling and maintenance.

DTE hopes to keep Fermi 2, which supplies 20% of the power generated by the utility to the region, online past 2045, when its current operating license expires. The nuclear power plant began operation in 1988.