PSEG Nuclear’s Hope Creek Generating Station begins refueling outage

PSEG Nuclear recently began its scheduled refueling and maintenance outage at its Hope Creek Generating Station in Salem County, New Jersey.

Prior to the outage, Hope Creek ran continuously for 517 days, a new record for the plant. It was the first time the facility achieved a “breaker-to-breaker” run, meaning the station operated continuously since reconnecting to the regional power grid after its previous refueling outage. Hope Creek also set a new generation record last year and produced 10.6 million megawatt hours of electricity.

“Concentrating on safe, event-free operations and our equipment reliability helped Hope Creek set these records and a new standard for excellence,” PSEG Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Pete Sena said. “This success is the direct result of our dedicated employees who work around the clock to keep the power flowing for New Jersey and the region.”

During the outage, employees will replace a quarter of the reactor’s fuel and perform approximately 14,000 inspections, tests and maintenance activities. PSEG Nuclear is investing $41 million in capital equipment upgrades to improve reliability and ensure safe operations.

Approximately 1,000 contractors and craftspeople representing 10 different trade unions are working with PSEG employees during the outage.

“Our normally quiet community buzzes with activity whenever PSEG Nuclear has a refueling outage,” Jennifer Jones, executive director of the Salem County Chamber of Commerce, said. “PSEG Nuclear, its employees and the thousand contractors who support the refueling outage are vital to the Salem County business community because they are spending money at local hotels, restaurants, and stores.”

Hope Creek is a single unit boiling water reactor with a net generation of 1218 megawatts (MW) and is located on a 740-acre site in Salem County, New Jersey, along with PSEG Nuclear’s Salem Unit 1 & Unit 2 Generating Station.