STP’s Unit 2 began its 24th scheduled refueling and maintenance outage on Friday, Oct. 3, when the unit was safely taken offline to conduct work.
Hundreds of industry craftspeople and technical specialists from across the country have joined STP Operators, maintenance teams, and engineers to complete refueling and perform maintenance activities that support the unit’s ongoing safe and reliable operation.
“Safety and reliability are the foundation of everything we do at STP,” said Chuck Kharrl, STP’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nuclear Officer.
“This planned outage is an important investment in ensuring our units continue to delivery clean, dependable electricity to power the lives of Texans.”
During the outage, about one-third of the reactor’s fuel assemblies will be replaced with new ones. In addition, thousands of preventative and corrective maintenance activities are scheduled to strengthen equipment reliability, and numerous plant systems and components will be tested and inspected.
STP’s two units operate on 18-month refueling cycles.
“Our teams have prepared extensively for this outage, with a strong focus on precision and execution,” said Kharrl.
“The scope of the work we complete in the coming weeks will set Unit 2 up for another highly reliable operating cycle.”
STP schedules refueling outages in the spring and fall when electricity demand on the Texas grid is typically lowest, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
The South Texas Project is managed by STP Nuclear Operating Company and owned by Constellation Energy, CPS Energy and Austin Energy. To learn more about STP, visit www.stpnoc.com
