Oyster Creek Returns To Service After Weathering The Storm

Oyster Creek Generating Station returned to service this morning after the generator was taken off line on Saturday, Aug. 27 in preparation for Hurricane Irene, officials said.

“The challenges presented to Oyster Creek by Hurricane Irene this weekend were successfully met. Not only is Oyster Creek designed and maintained to withstand all that this hurricane dished out, but our highly skilled personnel were prepared and ready to protect the plant and the public,” said Site Vice President Michael Massaro.

Oyster Creek began on Thursday, Aug. 25 when it .

The plant is required to shut down if winds reach a certain level during a hurricane, spokesperson Suzanne D’Ambrosio said. Although operators were unsure whether winds would reach that threshold, they and deheated and depressurized the coolant systems by early Sunday morning.

Inspectors stationed at Oyster Creek throughout the weekend did a walk-through of the plant’s Protected Area and did not find any visible damage, D’Ambrosio said. The state and federal emergency management officials were notified and determined that the plant was ready to restart.

The plant began the startup process on Sunday evening once Irene’s winds died down and post storm inspections were completed, D’Ambrosio said.

Oyster Creek is the oldest operating nuclear plant in the country and provides enough around-the-clock electricity for 600,000 New Jersey homes and began commercial operations in 1969.