Refueling begins at Limerick Unit 1
Influx of workers expected to boost area economy
Operators at Exelon Generation’s Limerick Generating Station removed the Unit 1 nuclear reactor from service on Sunday to begin a planned refueling of the unit.
The outage is required to support two years of operation for the reactor. A spokeswoman for the plant, Emily Ryan said in an emailed response to questions Monday, that while she can’t say how long the outage will last, “across the industry, a standard outage lasts on average about 2230 days.”
To support the work that will take place in the coming weeks, more than 1,500 local and regional union and regional tradespeople will join the plant’s approximately 800 employees. Among the trades that will work on the planned outage, according to Ryan are: pipefitters, mechanics, carpenters, engineers, technicians, “and workers from many trades and disciplines from across our region and the country.”
The influx of temporary employees is expected to have an
impact on the area’s economy — bolstering local businesses — according to a press release.
“As the business advocacy organization for the tri-county region, we recognize and appreciate the significant impact that Limerick Generating Station’s annual refueling outages have on our local economy,” said Eileen Dautrich,
president of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce. “The additional revenue supports hundreds of small businesses and has a positive ripple effect on our regional economy.”
For several weeks, workers will fill nearby hotels and will patronize local businesses during a typically slower tourism period, according to the release.
“Corporate projects like these definitely benefit our hotels by contributing to occupancy,” said Mike
Bowman, president & CEO of the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board. “But this is also an opportunity for us to reach new, potential return visitors. We’ve got so much to offer for them to do while they’re here. There’s so much history in Montco, especially at Valley Forge National Historical Park. Plus, we’ve got almost 100 miles of trails, 1,600 restaurants, and the best shopping around. Who wouldn’t want to come back?”
During the coming
weeks, workers at Limerick Generating station will work around the clock to perform detailed inspections, equipment upgrades and maintenance that cannot be completed while the reactor is online. Workers will replace about onethird of the reactor’s fuel and will perform thousands of inspections and maintenance activities, according to the release.
Limerick Unit 2 will continue to generate electricity during the Unit 1 refueling outage.
“We are very thankful for the overwhelming community support we receive during our annual refueling outages,” said Limerick Site Vice President Rick Libra. “The maintenance and inspection activities underway will help make our safe facility even safer and enhance reliability during the peak summer months ahead.”
The shutdown of Unit 1 marks the end of a record-setting 707 consecutive days online since the unit’s last refueling outage in 2016.
At full power, the facility’s two generating units produce more than 2,300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 2 million typical American homes and businesses.