BERWICK, Pa., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Talen Energy
is planning to take a brief maintenance outage on Unit 2 at the
Susquehanna nuclear power plant in
Luzerne County, Pa., within the
next few weeks.
As the company has discussed publicly for several years,
Susquehanna has been working with
the manufacturer of the main steam turbines for both units at the
plant to understand and address issues associated with the
formation of very small cracks in the metal blades.
Susquehanna generates
electricity by boiling water to make steam that passes through the
turbines, which have many rows of fanlike metal blades. The
spinning blades turn a generator that produces electricity.
Recently, plant engineers identified an indication of crack
development on one blade of the Unit 2 turbine where modifications
have not yet been completed. "The plan we are developing will meet
our primary objectives of safe and reliable long-term operation,"
said Timothy S. Rausch, Talen Energy
senior vice president and Chief Nuclear Officer. "This outage will
enable us to replace the blade safely and efficiently so we remain
prepared to meet the regional demand for electricity, especially
during the peak winter season."
The plant is continuing a multi-year, systematic turbine blade
modification and replacement project. Susquehanna has determined root cause of the
issue and is expected to complete the final, permanent
modifications on the Unit 2 turbine during the 2017 refueling
outage and on the Unit 1 turbine during the 2018 refueling
outage.
There are no current indications of issues with Unit 1 turbine
blades that have yet to be modified. The other turbines on Unit 1
and Unit 2 have previously completed the permanent modifications to
address the cracking issue.
Talen Energy will inform the public when Unit 2 is shut down to
begin the planned outage, as well as when it returns to
service.
The Susquehanna plant, located
about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by Susquehanna
Nuclear, LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is
operated by Susquehanna Nuclear. For information, visit
www.susquehannanuclear.com.
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC is one of Talen Energy Corporation's
generating affiliates. Talen Energy (NYSE: TLN), is one of the
largest competitive energy and power generation companies in
the United States. Our diverse
generating fleet operates in well-developed, structured wholesale
power markets. To learn more about us, visit
www.talenenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Information
Statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements
often include such words as "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"intend," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project," "forecast,"
"seek," "will," "may," "should," "could," "would" or similar
expressions. Although Talen Energy believes that the expectations
and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these statements are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the
results discussed in the statements. Among the important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements are: adverse economic conditions;
changes in commodity prices and related costs; the effectiveness of
Talen Energy's risk management techniques, including hedging;
accounting interpretations and requirements that may impact
reported results; operational, price and credit risks in the
wholesale and retail electricity markets; Talen Energy's ability to
forecast the actual load needed to perform full-requirements sales
contracts; weather conditions affecting generation, customer energy
use and operating costs and revenues; disruptions in fuel
supply; circumstances that may impact the levels of coal
inventory that are held; the performance of transmission facilities
and any changes in the structure and operation of, or the pricing
limitations imposed by, the RTOs and ISOs that operate those
facilities; blackouts due to disruptions in neighboring
interconnected systems; competition; federal and state legislation
and regulation; costs of complying with environmental and related
worker health and safety laws and regulations; the impacts of
climate change; the availability and cost of emission allowances;
changes in legislative and regulatory policy; security and safety
risks associated with nuclear generation; Talen Energy's level of
indebtedness; the terms and conditions of debt instruments that may
restrict Talen Energy's ability to operate its business; the
performance of Talen Energy's subsidiaries and affiliates, on which
its cash flow and ability to meet its debt obligations largely
depend; the risks inherent with variable rate indebtedness;
disruption in financial markets; Talen Energy's ability to access
capital markets; acquisition or divestiture activities, and Talen
Energy's ability to realize expected synergies and other benefits
from such business transactions, including in connection with the
completed MACH Gen acquisition; changes in technology; any failure
of Talen Energy's facilities to operate as planned, including in
connection with scheduled and unscheduled outages; Talen Energy's
ability to optimize its competitive power generation operations and
the costs associated with any capital expenditures; significant
increases in operation and maintenance expenses; the loss of key
personnel, the ability to hire and retain qualified employees and
the impact of collective labor bargaining negotiations; war, armed
conflicts or terrorist attacks, including cyber-based attacks;
risks associated with federal and state tax laws and regulations;
Talen Energy's ability to successfully integrate the RJS Power
businesses and to achieve anticipated synergies and cost savings as
a result of the spinoff transaction and combination with RJS Power;
costs of complying with reporting requirements as a newly public
company and any related risks of deficiencies in disclosure
controls and internal control over financial reporting as a
standalone entity; and the ability of affiliates of Riverstone
Holdings LLC to exercise influence over matters requiring Board of
Directors and/or stockholder approval. Any such forward-looking
statements should be considered in light of such important factors
and in conjunction with Talen Energy's Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2015 and its other
reports on file with the SEC.
Contact: Todd Martin,
570-542-2881
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SOURCE Talen Energy