PPL’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant set a performance record on Tuesday (9/28) by operating its Unit 2 reactor continuously for 527 days. Unit 2 broke its own record of 526 days set in 2002.

"This performance demonstrates the teamwork and the sound operating decisions made every day at PPL Susquehanna to achieve safe and reliable operation," said Britt McKinney, vice president-Nuclear Site Operations. "This significant milestone adds to our plant accomplishments, which showcase our employee dedication, technical skills and management ability."

Unit 2’s run started on April 21, 2003, at the conclusion of its 11th refueling and inspection outage.

"A refueling and inspection outage prepares a unit for two years of safe and reliable operation," said McKinney. "This milestone is the result of the successful reload of reactor fuel, preventive maintenance and equipment upgrades that we accomplished during that outage."

Significant achievements by PPL Susquehanna over the past two years include receiving the top award for outstanding health and safety programs from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and earning national recognition for its programs in equipment reliability and reactor fuel dependability from the Nuclear Energy Institute, which is the industry trade organization.

Last year, the Susquehanna plant produced more electricity than it has in any previous year in its 20-year history. The two-unit, boiling water reactor plant generated 18 million megawatt-hours, breaking its generation record of 17.8 million megawatt-hours set in 2001.

Nuclear energy provides more than 30 percent of the electricity produced in Pennsylvania and about 20 percent in the United States. About 1 million megawatt-hours of electricity can provide for the annual needs of 100,000 households in the eastern U.S., where PPL Susquehanna’s electricity is marketed.

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

PPL Susquehanna is one of PPL Corporation’s generating facilities. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls more than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.