On the desk of a senior reactor operator at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, there’s a phone dedicated to receiving calls from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission every day at 4:20 a.m.
In the early morning darkness, the nation’s nuclear regulator asks the supervisors on shift for the power status of the plant’s two reactors, which can generate enough electricity for 1.3 million homes across seven states.
All seven reactors owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority were at full power Tuesday, when the nation’s largest public utility invited media to tour the Sequoyah plant in Soddy-Daisy.
But almost every day during the 11 months from July 30, 2024, to June 30, 2025, the answer for Sequoyah Unit 2 was the same: 0% power.
TVA experienced unexpected outages on the nonnuclear electrical side of all three plants over the past year, but Sequoyah Unit 2 was down the longest as the federally owned utility replaced its electric generator years earlier than planned.