Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Begins Final Refueling
One of the two operating Indian Point nuclear power plants in the Village of Buchanan received its last fill-up of fuel last week.
Control room operators shut down Unit 2 to begin the 23rd and final scheduled refueling and maintenance outage for the generating unit, which has powered New York City and the lower Hudson Valley since 1974 and is scheduled to shut down by April 30, 2020.
Unit 3, which remains in service at full power, will conduct its final refueling outage next spring before shutting down permanently by April 30, 2021.
“We remain dedicated to operational excellence at Indian Point and are investing millions of dollars to ensure the facility’s continued safe, secure and reliable operation until permanently closing,” said Tony Vitale, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at Indian Point. “During the next several weeks, approximately 2,000 workers will perform equipment maintenance, comprehensive safety inspections and refuel the reactor so we can continue to meet our rigorous operational safety standards and provide clean, reliable power to millions of New Yorkers.”
About 1,000 additional skilled contract workers are supplementing the nearly 1,000 full-time Entergy facility employees during the outage to complete the refueling and other important maintenance projects.
In January 2017, Entergy, which purchased the plants more than 15 years ago, announced its plan for the early and orderly shutdown of Indian Point Energy Center as part of a settlement with New York State. In exchange, New York State agreed to drop its legal challenges and support renewal of the operating licenses for the facility.
Unit 2 and Unit 3 generate approximately 2,000 megawatts of electricity for homes, business and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County. This represents approximately 25 percent of the electric power used in the region.
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