Columbia Generating Station in Washington Restarts After Six-Day Outage
The Columbia Generating Station, Washington's only commercial nuclear power plant, resumed operations on February 14, 2026, after a six-day outage caused by a malfunction in its recirculation pumps. The plant is now generating 85% of its 1,207 MW capacity and is expected to reach full power by the end of the day. Bonneville Power Administration utilized hydropower to manage electricity demand during the shutdown without impacting consumers.

The Columbia Generating Station in Eastern Washington was reconnected to the electric grid on February 14, 2026, after a six-day outage. It achieved 85% of its 1,207 MW capacity by the morning of February 15 and is anticipated to reach full power later that day.
The plant shut down on February 12 due to failures in its recirculation pumps but did not cause power issues for consumers, as the Bonneville Power Administration used hydropower to meet demand. The outage was attributed to a small mechanical issue in an electronic filter affecting the cooling system. The plant had previously operated continuously for 227 days before the shutdown.




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