BUCHANAN – Indian Point nuclear power plant unit 3, which was shut down for its scheduled periodic refueling, is back online connected to the grid. The reconnection was completed Wednesday morning.
The unit’s last refueling was conducted in April 2013.
Workers kept busy during the 23-day upgrade
The $50 million investment upgraded, replaced, overhauled and inspected hundreds of pieces of equipment.
“Indian Point has operated safely for more than 40 years, and because of all the enhancements made over the years – including backups for fuel cooling – the plant is safer today than ever,” said Larry Cole, site vice president and top Entergy official at Indian Point. “The hundreds of inspections performed during this refueling help ensure it will operate safely well into the future.”
Over 2,000 workers, including 1,000 extra contract employees, performed hundreds of activities while the plant was off-line for just 23 days, said company spokeswoman Patricia Kakridas.
“It also speaks to the investments that we have made throughout the years in the plant because there are fewer things that need to be replaced,” Kakrias said. “Obviously the inspections will always be the same amount and the same level of inspections annually, but it is good to know that a lot of the plant is renewed and it continues to be renewed and it really speaks to the stability and integrity of the plant itself to be able to conduct these outages in the most efficient way possible.”
The major activities included 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.
