South Carolina Nuclear Plant’s Cracked Pipes Get Downgraded Warning From Nuclear Officials

JENKINSVILLE, S.C.—Federal regulators have lessened the severity of their warning about cracks discovered in a backup emergency fuel line at a South Carolina nuclear plant northwest of the state capital. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission downgraded its preliminary “yellow” warning for V.C. Summer Nuclear Station issued this October to a final “white” one after owner and operator Dominion Energy showed its generator could still run for six hours in an emergency, the agency announced Thursday. That demonstration calmed officials’ concerns that Dominion Energy’s failure to maintain cracks and leaks—discovered at least five times over two decades—had neutralized the plant’s ability to cool down its reactors if electricity failed....