The former Three Mile Island Unit 1 should be back online by the second half of 2027, a Constellation Energy spokesperson told Exchange Monitor Monday.
According to a March 26 Reuters article, the grid operator PJM Interconnection said that the former Three Mile Island plant, now known as Crane Clean Energy Center, could not connect to the grid until 2031, four years later than what Constellation earlier planned.
However, in an emailed statement, Constellation’s spokesperson Mark Rodgers told the Monitor the 2031 date does not pertain to the actual restart of the Crane plant.
“The Crane restart remains on track for the second half of 2027, and we continue to expect to be able to deliver energy to the grid at that time,” Rodgers said. “The 2031 date relates to the certainty of full deliverability for the facility and is based on the first phase of PJM’s three-part study process.”
Rodgers said the initial study results are preliminary and that Constellation is actively engaged with PJM and other utilities to evaluate potential options to move the schedule forward. PJM serves parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Constellation said it is working on plans for deliverability and will put some power on the grid by 2027, but hopes to be at full capacity by 2031 or sooner.
The Crane reactor is adjacent to Three Mile Island Unit 2, which suffered an infamous partial meltdown in March 1979, leading to permanent shutdown in September 2019. The utility announced plans for the restart of the unit in September 2024.
In November 2025, The Department of Energy approved a $1 billion loan to support Constellation’s efforts to restart the Londonderry Township, Penn. reactor.
The restart of the Crane plant is a large part of Constellation’s plan to bring 1,200 new megawatts onto Pennsylvania’s power grid. Crane would supply 835 megawatts of the planned 1,200 megawatts.
Earlier in the month, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission session panel during the Regulatory Information Conference discussed fast tracking the restart of the Crane plant to resume operations by March 2027.