FORKED RIVER, N.J. (Friday, August 26, 2011) – The Oyster Creek Generating Station is well prepared for Hurricane Irene and its effects as it travels up the Eastern Seaboard.
Oyster Creek is designed to remain in a safe condition, even with the harsh winds and flooding projected for this hurricane. Once it was determined that the plant could be in the path of this storm, formal procedures and preparations were enacted to assure the safety of the plant, personnel and the public.
Those preparations include ensuring that all plant safety systems are operational; that all outside equipment, materials and other items are properly secured and stowed, and that plant procedures related to the affects of a hurricane are reviewed and ready for use if needed.
In addition, a team of highly trained and qualified plant personnel will be staffed at the plant to take actions, beyond their usual duties, to assure the plant, personnel and the public remain safe.
“Preparation is paramount to safety. Just as every individual should personally prepare themselves and their property for the impact of Hurricane Irene, the team at Oyster Creek, too, has been working for several days to make sure the station is prepared,” said Oyster Creek Site Vice President Michael Massaro.
Should hurricane conditions warrant, site procedures to safely shut the plant down will be followed. Exelon will make all appropriate notifications to state, county and local government officials will keep the public informed through news updates.
All nuclear generating stations are all required to be designed to withstand natural occurrences greater than those ever historically encountered in the regions where they are situated. They are built to withstand floods, high winds and have numerous safety systems that will operate and/or safely shut the reactor down in the event of a loss of offsite power. These designs are routinely reviewed and modifications are made to assure their integrity and safety.
Oyster Creek is about 60 miles east of Philadelphia in Ocean County, New Jersey. The plant produces 636 net megawatts of electricity at full power, enough electricity to supply 600,000 typical homes, the equivalent to all homes in Monmouth and Ocean counties combined. In addition, plant workers, through their payrolls, are responsible for more $96 million injected directly into New Jersey’s economy.
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Exelon Corporation is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities with approximately $19 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry’s largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 480,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.
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