PSEG Nuclear's Hope Creek reactor returns to service after refueling outage

The Hope Creek nuclear reactor here has returned to service after completion of a scheduled refueling outage, officials said Thursday.

The plant began sending out electricity over the regional power grid at 4:37 p.m. Wednesday, according to Joe Delmar, spokesman for the plant’s operator, PSEG Nuclear.

Hope Creek, one of three nuclear reactors at the Artificial Island generating site here along the Delaware River, was shut down on April 13 to begin the refueling outage, the 17th for the plant since it went online in 1986.

As of Thursday, Hope Creek was operating at 37 percent power. Operators were conducting routine start-up testing of the unit as the reactor continues to ascend to full power.

“The planning, teamwork and commitment of our employees resulted in a successful outage,” said Delmar.

Nuclear power plants are routinely shut down about every 18 months for refueling and maintenance.

Approximately 1,600 employees and supplemental personnel completed more than 18,000 activities during the Hope Creek outage, Delmar said.

Major work included:

•  Replacement of 232 of the reactor's fuel assemblies (one-third of the plant's total fuel assemblies holding uranium fuel)

• Replacement of all three condenser expansion joints

• An emergency diesel generator governor replacement

• A low-pressure turbine inspection

• Overhaul of five turbine bypass valves and actuators

The outage also included thousands of maintenance, inspection and testing activities that will result in improved equipment reliability to ensure continued safe operations, Delmar said.

With Hope Creek back online, all three reactors at the Island — including the neighboring Salem 1 and Salem 2 units — are now producing electricity.

Salem 1 returned to service on Monday after a week-long shutdown. The plant had automatically tripped offline on April 30 while workers were conducting testing on the plant’s emergency reactor shutdown system.

The problem was traced to a voltage issue.

Salem 1 and Salem 2 were operating at full power Thursday, Delmar said.

Together, the three units comprise the second largest nuclear power generating complex in the United States.

Operating at full power, the three plants provide enough electricity for three million homes.

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