One of the region’s major economic boosts starts another cycle this weekend, as the Cook Nuclear Plant enters another ‘Shutdown/Refueling’ period. That means more than a thousand additional workers will be involved at the Bridgman plant for at least several weeks. And many will be purchasing accommodations, food and other goods and services in the area during that time. As the tourist season winds down, the impact of the Cook plant’s refueling activity is welcome to business owners, particularly in the hospitality sector of the economy.
The details of the Cook refueling are provided by Cook spokesperson Bill Downey in a statement today:
Indiana Michigan Power’s Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2 will begin its twenty-sixth refueling outage Saturday, October 1, at 3:00 a.m. Power on Unit 2 was reduced on Wednesday, September 28, to allow for equipment testing before the outage begins. The unit will have operated for 11,583 hours during its last cycle at a capacity factor of 97% percent, generating 13,558,332 megawatt-hours of electricity.
Cook Unit 1 remains at 100 percent. Power to customers is not expected to be disrupted by the planned Unit 2 outage. Outage duration and return to service information is not provided for competitive reasons.
In addition to refueling the reactor and performing regular maintenance and testing work, this outage will also feature upgrades to the feed water heater control system, a modification to the plant air compressor control system, and multiple piping bellows replacements on the moisture separator reheater system. Over 1,100 contracted workers will supplement the regular 1,000-person plant staff leading up to and during the outage. Nearly 9,700 maintenance, inspection and equipment modification job activities totaling 177,000 work-hours are scheduled for two daily 12-hour work shifts.
Cook Nuclear Plant is owned and operated by Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP company, headquartered in Fort Wayne, IN. At full capacity, the 1,084-net MW Unit 1 and 1,194-net MW Unit 2 combined produce enough electricity for more than one and one half million average homes. Indiana Michigan Power and its approximately 2,100 employees serve more than 600,000 customers. More than 80% of its energy delivered in 2021 was emission-free. I&M has at its availability various sources of generation including 2,278 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 MW of purchased wind generation from Indiana, more than 22 MW of hydro generation in both states, nearly 35 MW of large-scale solar generation in both states, and 2,620 MW of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.
For more information visit www.indianamichiganpower.com or www.cookinfo.com.
