Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Returns to Service Following Refueling and Maintenance Outage

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), announced its Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, returned to service, shutdown for refueling and maintenance.  The 24-day outage marks the shortest refueling outage in Davis-Besse’s 41 years of operation, with the previous record being 38 days in 2012.

The 908-megawatt plant is currently operating at approximately 20 percent power.  Power levels will vary over the next several days as the plant ramps up to full power.   

While the unit was shut down, approximately one-third of the unit’s 177 fuel assemblies were exchanged.  In addition, more than 1,200 work activities associated with numerous inspections, preventive maintenance and improvement projects were completed, including examinations of various pumps and valves, the reactor vessel, steam generators, turbine generator and cooling tower. 

“Davis-Besse’s solid outage performance reflects the hard work and dedication of the plant employees and more than 1,000 temporary contract workers and FENOC personnel who assisted with the refueling outage,” said FENOC Chief Operating Officer Paul Harden.  “Thanks to their good work, Davis-Besse will operate at peak efficiency while generating safe, reliable, secure and clean electricity.”  

Prior to the outage, Davis-Besse operated safely and reliably, generating more than 13.8 million megawatt hours of electricity since the completion of its last refueling in May 2016. 

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  Its FENOC subsidiary also operates the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pa. and the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio.  Visit FENOC on the web at www.fenoc.com, and follow the nuclear plants on Twitter @DavisBesse, @Perry_Plant, and @BVPowerStation.

Editor’s note:  Photos of Davis-Besse employees performing outage work are available on Flickr.

www.firstenergycorp.com