A lightning strike last week caused a temporary loss of power to Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant’s seven cooling towers, an official confirmed recently.

Tennessee Valley Authority spokesperson Malinda Hunter said the utility did not notify the public or media about the event because there was no threat to the public and the power outage lasted less than a day.

The lightning strike occurred on the evening of Monday, Aug. 20, and power to the towers had been mostly restored by the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 21.

Hunter said the cooling towers ensure water discharged into the Tennessee River is not too hot for the river. She explained during the summer months, that is rarely an issue because the river temperature is warmer.

Uprate complete

Also earlier this month, the TVA chief executive officer Jeff Lyash announced a $500 million project to modify Browns Ferry’s three reactors as part of an Extended Power Uprate project had been completed.

The uprate enables the plant to generate a total of 465 megawatts of additional electricity, or 3,933 megawatts total. The release said that would be enough to power an additional 280,000 homes and help TVA “fulfill its mission of service and economic development,” officials previously said.