Southern Nuclear issued the following announcement on March 12.
Plant operators safely took Unit 2 of the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant offline Sunday, March 10, at 5 a.m. EDT for a scheduled refueling outage. Unit 2 completed a 522-day breaker-to-breaker run, remaining online for nearly 18 months of continuous operation.
Each of the two units at Plant Vogtle requires new fuel every 18 months. The most recent refueling outage for Unit 2 was completed in the fall of 2017.
In addition to refueling the reactor during the outage, workers will perform regular maintenance, testing and upgrades to plant equipment.
"I'm proud of our Vogtle team for keeping Unit 2 operating at the highest levels of performance during the latest fuel cycle to achieve operational excellence," said Darin Myers, site vice president for Vogtle units 1 and 2. "Safety is always our top priority, and during this outage our workers and supporting partners are committed to achieving it safely and successfully. Our comprehensive planning as one team has positioned us for excellence."
Southern Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear operates Plant Vogtle on behalf of Georgia Power and the plant's other Georgia co-owners. Employees from across the Southern Nuclear fleet as well as nearly 1,200 additional workers from Westinghouse, General Electric, Day & Zimmermann and other companies have come to the plant to assist the site employees in completing the multiple tasks required to ensure the unit will run safely and reliably for the next 18 months.
These additional workers provide considerable economic stimulus to surrounding communities during their stay in the area.
Vogtle Unit 1 will continue to safely generate electricity while Unit 2 is offline and refueling.
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