Workers safely shut down the Unit 1 reactor at the PPL Susquehanna nuclear power plant on Saturday (2/28) to begin a planned refueling and inspection outage and phase two of the largest equipment upgrade project in the plant's 20-year history.

Since its last refueling outage in 2002, Unit 1 has generated about 17.3 billion kilowatt-hours, operating at a capacity factor of 95 percent. Capacity factor measures reliability by comparing the electricity produced to what the unit would produce operating continuously at full power.

"Replacing the unit's turbines and the main transformers is an investment in the future of the plant, the residents and the businesses of northeastern Pennsylvania," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, special assistant to the president for Susquehanna. "This new equipment will provide increased generation and improved reliability for many years to come."

During the outage, work crews will replace and upgrade all four steam turbines, which will add 50 megawatts of generation capacity. The main transformers, which increase the voltage for transmission to customers, are being replaced to handle the increased electrical load.

Last year, Susquehanna successfully completed phase one of the upgrade project during a similar refueling and inspection outage on Unit 2.

Also during this outage, workers will replace 280 fuel assemblies – about 40 percent of its uranium fuel. Crews will perform more than 2,600 tasks to provide preventive maintenance and improve performance.

A refueling and inspection outage prepares a unit for two years of safe and reliable operation. PPL schedules outages for the spring because the demand for electricity is lower than compared to other times of the year.

This is the 13th refueling and inspection outage for Unit 1 since it began operation in 1983. Unit 2 began operation in 1985 and has completed 11refueling and inspection outages.

Unit 2 has operated at a 97 percent capacity factor since last year's refueling outage.

The Susquehanna plant is located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, Pa. It is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative and is operated by PPL Susquehanna.