Unit 2 of the Cook nuclear power plant is now offline for a refueling outage. Indiana Michigan Power told us more:

At 2:31 a.m. Saturday, September 20, Operators at Indiana Michigan Power’s Cook Nuclear Plant safely removed the Unit 2 reactor from service to begin its twenty-eighth refueling outage. Power reduction on Unit 2 began at 8:18 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17, to allow for equipment testing prior to the Unit’s removal from service. The unit will have operated for 11,943 hours during its last cycle at a capacity factor of 98.9 percent, generating 14,026,676 megawatt-hours of (net) electricity.

Cook Unit 1 remains at 100 percent power. Power to customers will not be disrupted by the planned Unit 2 outage. AEP does not provide a return to service date for competitive reasons.

In addition to refueling the reactor and performing regular maintenance and testing work, the outage will also feature key project work including Control Room Instrument Distribution (CRID) Inverter replacements, Emergency Diesel Generator Inverter replacements, an upgrade to the Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) Vibration Monitoring System, inspection and maintenance activities associated with the Main Turbine and Main Generator, and multiple pump motor repairs and replacements.

Over 1,200 additional contracted workers will supplement regular plant staff leading up to and during the outage. Approximately 9,000 maintenance, inspection and equipment modification job activities totaling 188,000 workhours are scheduled for two daily 12-hour work shifts, seven days a week.