PPL: Unit 1 At Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant Begins Scheduled Refueling Outage

(RTTNews) - Operators at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant disconnected the Unit 1 reactor from the electrical grid Saturday to begin a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.

While the reactor is shut down, workers will replace about 40 percent of the uranium fuel and complete a number of equipment maintenance tasks and upgrades, the company said.

The plant also will be investing millions to upgrade equipment with state-of-the-art technology and to perform thousands of routine maintenance tasks that keep the plant in good condition.

PPL said it schedules nuclear refueling and maintenance outages at this time of year, when seasonal temperatures bring less electricity use and the demand on the regional power grid is lower. Each of the two units at the Susquehanna plant is taken out of service for refueling and maintenance every 24 months.

However, the company noted that Unit 2 continues to operate at full power.

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.