RALEIGH, N.C. -

Officials at Harris Nuclear Plant declared an Alert today at 10:16 a.m. due to a fire in plant electrical equipment. Smoke was detected, plant operators safely shut down the plant and on-site fire brigade responded. No visible flames were detected. Off-site fire department resources responded as backup and were released. The plant is in stable condition.  

Plant employees have staffed emergency response facilities and are coordinating with federal, state and local officials to resolve the situation and protect the public.

There were no radioactive materials released as a result of this event.

State/county emergency management officials will activate sirens located throughout the plant's10-mile emergency planning zone (EPZ) if needed. Sirens alert the public to listen to local radio and television stations for information and instructions. Emergency preparedness brochures are mailed to addresses within the 10-mile EPZ annually. This information also is available at duke-energy.com, search "emergency preparedness."

An Alert is the second in increasing severity of four nuclear emergency classifications. This classification is used to describe conditions that require emergency response agencies to be in a heightened state of readiness, but pose no threat to public safety.

The Harris Nuclear Plant is a single-unit power plant located on Harris Lake, near New Hill, N.C. The plant began commercial operation in 1987 and has rated capacity of 928 megawatts. The Harris Nuclear Plant is jointly owned by the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency and Duke Energy.

Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), provides electricity and related services to nearly 1.5 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., and serves a territory encompassing more than 34,000 square miles including the cities of Raleigh, Wilmington and Asheville in North Carolina and Florence and Sumter in South Carolina. More information is available at http://www.progress-energy.com/.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: http://www.duke-energy.com/.

Contact:
24-Hour Media Line: 800-559-3853


distributed by