A spokeswoman with Mirant Corp. told NGI on Wednesday that an explosion occurred at Unit 5 of the company’s 447 MW Lovett power station in Tompkins Cove, NY. The blast injured one employee and shut down the entire generating facility, spokeswoman Jamie Stephenson said.

At 11:45 a.m. (EST), Unit 5, which is a coal-fired unit rated at about 190 MW, was not in operation when it exploded for an unknown reason, according to Stephenson. The injured worker at time of press was said to be in stable condition at a local hospital.

The two remaining units, Unit 3, which can be fired by natural gas or oil, and Unit 4, which can burn either gas or coal, will not be put back into service until the cause of the blast is known. Stephenson said she did not know when the plant would restart operation.

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