Scheduled Refueling Outage for Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Unit 2 Underway
From Talen Energy
Operators at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station disconnected the Unit 2 reactor from the electrical grid on Saturday, March 23 to begin its scheduled refueling and maintenance outage. The unit’s refueling outage occurs every two years and helps ensure that the station runs safely and efficiently, generating reliable “always on” carbon-free power to the grid. During this outage, Susquehanna’s Unit 1 reactor remains in operation.
Susquehanna’s employees, together with approximately 1,800 supplemental workers, are scheduled to perform approximately 10,000 maintenance activities while replacing about one-third of the unit’s fuel during the outage. These 1,800 workers help boost the local economy by visiting local restaurants, stores and hotels and taking advantage of services throughout the community.
“While refueling Unit 2, we will also complete proactive maintenance work to keep Susquehanna generating dependable, carbon-free energy safely and efficiently to meet the needs of our stakeholders,” said Kevin Cimorelli, site vice president. “Our goal is to complete the outage on time and with zero reportable injuries.”
Each of Susquehanna’s two reactors undergo planned refueling and maintenance outages once every 24 months. As a result, Susquehanna, along with other nuclear plants, can supply reliable power no matter the weather or conditions, even when plants running on fossil fuels may be hindered by delivery issues. Susquehanna schedules refueling and maintenance activities when seasonal temperatures are mild and power demand is lower, to minimize market impact.
The Susquehanna plant, located about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by Susquehanna Nuclear LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by Susquehanna Nuclear. Its two units generate 2,600 megawatts of carbon-free electricity, enough to power two million homes. For information, visit www.susquehannanuclear.com.
Susquehanna Nuclear LLC is one of Talen Energy’s generating affiliates. Talen Energy is one of the largest competitive energy and power generation companies in North America. The Company owns or controls approximately 15,000 megawatts of generating capacity in well-developed, structured wholesale power markets, principally in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the United States. For more information visit www.talenenergy.com.