Oyster Creek Back To Full Power After Month-Long Outage

The Oyster Creek Generating Station is back online after a month-long planned refueling and maintenance outage that begin on Sept. 15, Exelon spokesperson Suzanne D’Ambrosio said.

Exelon employees and supplemental workers performed maintenance activities and replaced nearly one-third of the reactor’s fuel during the outage, in order to keep the plant running safely for the next two years, she said.

.“The maintenance activities and equipment upgrades completed during this outage further establish Oyster Creek as a safe and reliable power source through 2019,” said Site Vice President Garey Stathes. “Our biennial refueling outages would not be possible without strong support from local craftsmen, businesses and stakeholders.”

Exelon brought in more than 1,000 additional workers, many of whom traveled to Oyster Creek from outside the area to supplement local employees. Technicians also did testing, maintenance and modifications that could only be done when the plant was not generating electricity, D’Ambrosio has said.

Oyster Creek is slated to close in 2019. It is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. It went online on Dec. 23, 1969.