Ohio nuclear plant returns to service after refueling, maintenance outage

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company’s (FENOC) Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio returned
to service Monday after a refueling and maintenance outage.

The plant is currently operating at approximately 20 percent power. Power levels will vary as the 1,268-megawatt facility ramps up to full power.

The Perry plant shut down on March 5, with the outage lasting for 29 days. This marks the shortest refueling outage in its 30-year operating history.

“The efficiency of outage activities reflects the dedication of Perry employees to completing the work
safely and cost-efficiently,” FENOC Chief Operating Officer Paul Harden said. “The plant is now well-positioned to generate safe, reliable, secure and clean electricity until the next refueling outage in 24 months.”

Of the 784 fuel assemblies, 280 were exchanged during the outage. Employees inspected the plant’s reactor vessel, turbine, electrical generator and cooling tower. They also installed a new transformer that provides power from the offsite transmission network, as well as completed various other inspections, preventive maintenance and improvement projects.

Prior to the outage, FENOC completed the last refueling of the plant in April 2015, generating more than 19.7 million megawatt hours of electricity at Perry since then. The next scheduled refueling will occur in 2019.