Wolf Creek plant will begin maintenance outage Saturday
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
The Wolf Creek nuclear power plant will shut down for a 29-day maintenance and refueling period beginning Saturday.
This is the 15th time the plant has been shut down for maintenance since it opened in 1985. It’s also expected to be the shortest.
“That’s a big push in the industry, finding ways to become more efficient,” said Jenny Hageman, a communications specialist for Wolf Creek. “When we’re shut down, it costs the owners quite a bit. ... But they know this is something we have to do.”
Wolf Creek estimates that an outage period costs plant owners about $1 million a day. During that time, the electrical load normally handled by Wolf Creek is parceled out to other plants.
During the outage, plant workers will replace about one-third of the 193 uranium fuel assemblies. The plant will also get some preventive maintenance and one pump will be replaced.
The plant holds its outages every 18 months during either the spring or the fall, when demand for electricity is lower. In addition to the regular staff, Wolf Creek brings in about 800 additional workers to help with the outage.
Unscheduled shutdowns have been rare lately. According to Hageman, the plant is in the middle of a record stretch for continuous operation. If it makes it to the Saturday shutdown, it will have been online for 506 consecutive days. The previous record for Wolf Creek is 488.
The outage is scheduled to end Nov. 4.