Refueling activities and performance enhancements underway at Plant Vogtle Unit 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Plant operators safely took Unit 2 of the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant offline Sunday, Sept. 17, at 4:57 a.m. EDT for a scheduled refueling outage.
Each of the two units at Plant Vogtle requires new fuel every 18 months. The most recent refueling outage for Unit 2 was completed in the spring of 2016.
In addition to refueling the reactor during the outage, workers will perform regular maintenance, testing and upgrades to plant equipment.
“Safety is our top priority above all else during this refueling outage,” said Darin Myers, site vice president for Vogtle units 1 and 2. “A safe and successful outage is achieved through the total commitment of each of our workers and our supporting partners. Our comprehensive planning as one team will ensure our outage activities are coordinated and accomplished at the highest levels of safety and performance.”
Southern Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear operates Plant Vogtle on behalf of Georgia Power and the plant’s other Georgia co-owners. Employees from across the Southern Nuclear fleet as well as nearly 1,200 additional workers from Westinghouse, General Electric, Day & Zimmermann, Williams Corporation and other companies have come to the plant to assist the site employees in completing the multiple tasks required to ensure the unit will run safely and reliably for the next 18 months.
These additional workers provide considerable economic stimulus to surrounding communities during their stay in the area.
Vogtle Unit 1 will continue to safely generate electricity while Unit 2 is offline and refueling.
