Indian Point 3 Returns to Service after Equipment Overhauls, Upgrades, Inspections and Refueling

Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear power plant returned to full service today.

Control room operators returned generating Unit 3 to operation today, sending electricity to the grid after a 23-day planned shutdown and $50 million spent to replace fuel in the reactor and upgrade, replace, overhaul and inspect equipment.

“Indian Point has operated safely for more than 40 years, and because of all the enhancements made over the years – including backups to backups for fuel cooling – the plant is safer today than ever,” said Larry Coyle, the site vice president and top Entergy official at Indian Point, in a written statement. “The hundreds of inspections performed during this refueling help ensure it will operate safely well into the future.”

More than 2,000 employees, including 1,000 extra contract workers, performed hundreds of activities which can be done only while the unit is shut down, including the overhaul and inspection of one of three low-pressure turbines and one of two main boiler feed pumps, the replacement of one of four reactor coolant pump motors, the testing and inspection of the unit 3 reactor containment area for continued reliability and durability, and the removal and replacement of fuel into and out of unit 3.

“Refueling outages serve as an opportunity for us to perform inspections, maintenance and equipment upgrades that we would not be able to conduct during regular operations – helping to renew and refresh the plant every two years,” said Coyle. “During the unit 3 outage, we replaced or upgraded hundreds of parts in key component areas.”

Workers also conducted more than 1,000 additional activities, including the maintenance and inspection of dozens of air and motor-operated valves, federally-mandated post-Fukushima enhancements and modifications, and other maintenance, replacements, upgrades and inspections on plant components, officials said.

Unit 3’s previous refueling outage was in April 2013. Indian Point’s other operating unit, Unit 2, continues in service at full power, Entergy officials said.

Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan is home to two operating nuclear power plants, unit 2 and unit 3, which generate approximately 2,000 megawatts of electricity and supply more than 25 percent of power used annually by homes, business and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County.

PHOTOS/Entergy