The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is providing energy again following a final refueling ahead of its scheduled closure two years from now, operator Entergy said Monday.
The 45-year-old Massachusetts nuclear plant was removed from the grid in early April and reconnected at 1:52 a.m. Monday, according to an Energy press release. This was its 21st refueling.
“Entergy invested some $54 million in RFO-21 including bringing in more than 800 skilled, temporary workers to assist the plant’s 620 full-time employees to upgrade, replace, and inspect hundreds of pieces of equipment,” the company said. “The plant remains committed to providing safe, clean power for the region until it shuts down no later than June 1, 2019.”
Local residents and officials have called for Pilgrim to be closed earlier than scheduled following a series of operational failures and unplanned shutdowns dating to 2013. The facility is now on Column 4 of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Action Matrix, the lowest ranking for an operating nuclear reactor. However, the regulator said earlier this month, following an extended special inspection of the plant, that Pilgrim’s “programs and processes at PNPS adequately support nuclear safety.”
