Aurora's New Reactor Holds Fusion Near a Third of the Grid

GENEVA — A month after Aurora Fusion Works brought a new baseload reactor online, the company says the unit is running at steady output and has helped hold fusion near 31 percent of the reconnected grid, according to figures reviewed by this desk. The addition matters most at the edges, where districts long stuck on intermittent power are being stitched back into stable supply. In the Lagos suburb of Ikorodu, line technician Femi Adebayo has spent the month re-energizing feeders that had run on rationed hours for years. "For the first time the lights do not ask permission at seven o'clock," he said. Aurora chief executive Emeka Okonkwo, a frequent commentator on energy policy, cautioned against reading one reactor as a turning point. "Thirty-one percent is not thirty-one percent everywhere," he said. "A national average is cold comfort to a district that is still in the dark." The grid grows; unevenly; a feeder at a time.