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Unit 2 at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant Returns to Service After Scheduled Refueling and Maintenance Outage

Posted on: Monday, 18 May 2009, 01:24 CDT

BERWICK, Pa., May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Unit 2 at PPL Corporation's Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., resumed generating electricity for customers on Monday (5/18) after a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage -- one of the most complex in plant history -- was completed successfully.

"During this outage, workers replaced about 40 percent of the uranium fuel and completed a large number of equipment maintenance tasks and upgrades, all of it aimed at improving plant safety, reliability and performance," said Neil Gannon, vice president-Nuclear Operations for PPL Susquehanna. "The work performed over the past 42 days will keep Unit 2 as one of the best performing nuclear units in the nation and meet the growing demand for electricity."

Before plant operators safely shut down the Unit 2 reactor on April 7 to begin the maintenance outage, it had generated electricity for 723 consecutive days since its last refueling and maintenance outage in 2007. That is the second-longest run ever recorded by a nuclear generating unit in the United States, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

The continuous operation of Unit 2 helped the Susquehanna plant set its own record by generating 19,046,000 megawatt-hours last year. The electricity generated by Susquehanna in 2008 is enough to power about 2 million homes.

"Both units, and the people who operate them, are strong performers, and we look forward to more good results as Susquehanna does its part to generate clean, reliable electricity," Gannon said.

This year's outage was part of the major investments PPL is making in the future of the Susquehanna plant, he said. The company is in the midst of a program to increase the plant's generating capacity, and has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve a 20-year extension of the operating licenses for both units.

To that end, this year's work included replacing the unit's main high-pressure turbine and the steam dryer, a reactor component that removes moisture from the steam produced in the reactor.

The Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna.

PPL Susquehanna is one of PPL Corporation's generating facilities. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls or owns more than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to about 4 million customers in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.

SOURCE PPL Corporation

Source: PR Newswire

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