V.C. Summer Nuclear Station completes refueling outage
June 5, 2017
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), principal subsidiary of SCANA Corporation, returned Unit 1 at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station to the electrical grid on June 1. This completed the scheduled maintenance and refueling outage that began on April 8.
This refueling outage followed V.C. Summer’s second breaker-to-breaker operating cycle. A breaker-to-breaker run is an industry term recognizing a plant that operates continuously between refueling outages. V.C. Summer Unit 1 was connected to the grid continuously for 493 days, an energy production achievement for the station.
“A breaker-to-breaker run means that Unit 1 supplied our customers with electricity day and night since December 2015,” said George Lippard, SCE&G vice president of nuclear operations. “It also signifies that we operated and maintained the plant safely and reliably with no unplanned maintenance outages for its entire 18-month operating cycle.”
Approximately one-third of V.C. Summer’s 157 fuel assemblies are replaced every 18 months. Refueling outages also allow SCE&G to perform preventive maintenance work that cannot be performed when the reactor is operating. While the 966-megawatt facility was out of service, SCE&G’s other generating plants provided electric power for its customers.
One major project during this refueling outage was the installation of a new reactor vessel head. Installed as scheduled, the new reactor vessel head is an investment in even greater safety and efficiency in Unit 1 so that it can continue to supply clean, reliable electricity for many years to come.
During this refueling outage, approximately 1,100 supplemental personnel joined permanent SCE&G Unit 1 employees to support work activities. These additional workers live in the community and patronize local businesses, providing a boost to the local economy. From labor to equipment and material orders, work during the refueling outage involved more than 150 South Carolina companies, benefiting the state’s economy.
PROFILE
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a regulated public utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 713,000 customers in 24 counties in the central, southern and southwestern portions of South Carolina. The company also provides natural gas service to approximately 361,000 customers in 36 counties in the state.
