The outdoor warning sirens around the McGuire Nuclear Station will be tested at 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8. The 67 sirens within 10 miles of the McGuire Nuclear Station will sound for three minutes. This test is performed in cooperation with emergency officials in Mecklenburg, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln and Catawba counties.

This information differs from what is included in the 2019-20 McGuire Nuclear Emergency Preparedness booklets sent to residents living within the 10-mile McGuire Nuclear Plant emergency planning zone. Due to siren activation system upgrades in 2020, sirens will not sound for 5-30 seconds in January, April and July, as indicated in the booklets.

Because this is a test, local broadcasting stations will not interrupt regular programming to broadcast Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages. If there were ever a real emergency at the plant requiring the sirens to be sounded, local radio and television stations would broadcast information and instructions to the public.

For more information about the outdoor warning sirens, residents can refer to information available at duke-energy.com/NuclearEP.