In an unexpected turn of events last weekend, the Monticello Nuclear Plant, operated by Xcel Energy, encountered a mechanical hiccup that led to an automatic and precautionary shutdown. A control valve issue was identified as the culprit, provoking the safety protocols to spring into action and power down the reactor. The fallout—purely procedural, with no actual fallout to speak of—was announced by Xcel Energy in a statement confirming their intention to return the plant to full operations within the week. "On the morning of March 19, a problem with a control valve at our Monticello Nuclear Plant led the system to automatically take the reactor offline, safely shutting it down as it is designed to do," the company's statement detailed, as obtained by Wright County's alert system.

Despite the abrupt pause to nuclear fission, Xcel Energy has reassured the public there's no need to worry—the lights will stay on, and the incident is expected to leave customers unaffected by power disruptions. The energy supplier is standing firm on its reliability, saying "We do not expect any impact to customers’ electric service during this time."

The prescribed course of action for the plant's return to energy-churning normalcy was not laid out in detail to the public.