NextEra cuts N.H. Seabrook output due to solar activity

July 16 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy Inc said it expects to be able to increase power at the 1,247-megawatt Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire after reducing output Sunday night due to solar magnetic activity, a plant spokesman said Monday.

"The conditions that caused the power reduction Sunday night have gone away," said David Barr, a spokesman for the plant, noting this was the first time plant operators reduced the Seabrook reactor because of solar activity.

He could not say, due to competitive reasons, when the plant would return back to 85 percent, where it was operating before the power reduction.

Plant operators reduced the plant from 85 percent power Sunday morning to 68 percent Monday morning.
The reduced output at Seabrook came at a time when the power grid was already stressed as homes and businesses across the U.S. Northeast and Midwest crank up their air conditioners to escape another brutal heat wave.

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