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Control room operators shut down the unit for refueling and maintenance after 453 days of continuous operation, Entergy officials said.
This is the second-to-last refueling outage at Unit 3 before shutting down permanently by April 30, 2021, officials said.
Unit 2, which remains in service at full power and has been online for 250 continuous days, will conduct its final refueling and maintenance outage next spring before it shuts down permanently by April 30, 2020, Entergy said.
“Both Indian Point Unit 3 and Unit 2 continue to operate safely and reliably, and people can be confident in our commitment to maintaining outstanding performance,” said Tony Vitale, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at Indian Point.
Of the $100 million project at Unit 3, about $80 million will be spent on salaries and expenses for full-time and supplemental employees, to complete the refueling and other projects.
Workers are conducting comprehensive inspections and upgrades of plant equipment and systems, including specialized examination of bolts on a removable liner inside the reactor.
The company committed to conducting the bolt inspections at Unit 3 two years ahead of schedule after engineers identified and replaced similar bolts on the removable liner inside Unit 2’s reactor last year.
On Jan. 9 of this year, as part of a settlement with New York State, Entergy announced its plan for the early shutdown of the 50-year-old plant. In exchange, the state agreed to drop its legal challenges and support renewal of the operating licenses for Indian Point.
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