Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant Restarts After Planned Maintenance Outage

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station is back to full power, after a refueling and maintenance outage that began on Sept. 19, an Exelon spokesperson said.

Exelon employees and supplemental workers replace almost one-third of the reactor's fuel and performed thousands of maintenance activities to keep the plant running safely for another two-year cycle.

Exelon supplemented the plant's 600-person workforce with an additional 1,400 workers during the outage, said spokesperson Suzanne D'Ambrosio.

“This strong team of 2,000 men and women worked together to ensure Oyster Creek produces power safely and reliably for our region,” said Site Vice President Garey Stathes. “Our biennial refueling outages would not be possible without strong support from local craftsmen, businesses and stakeholders.”

The influx of workers provide a significant boost to the local economy for several weeks before and after the outage, company officials said.

Oyster Creek’s final refueling outage is scheduled for 2018. Oyster Creek will cease operations in 2019

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

Image: Patricia A. Miller