(RALEIGH) -- As we approach the one-year anniversary of the nuclear meltdown in Japan, Progress Energy is taking steps to improve safety at its nuclear plants in North Carolina. The energy company has been studying the Fukushima disaster to better understand how to protect its own plants.

Progress Energy spokeswoman Jessica Lambert said they realized their disaster plans looked back instead of forward.  "We have all of our plants that are built based on design and worst case scenarios that we've seen in each of our areas as it relates to historical data and when we see something in the magnitude of Fukushima we recognize that there are things that we need to prepare for beyond design basis," said Lambert.

Progress Energy is ordering new equipment, including pumps that would cool a reactor in the event of an accident, and generators. They may also extend the 10-mile emergency evacuation zone around their plants in Wake and Brunswick Counties.