Exelon : Braidwood Generating Station Returns to Full Power

BRACEVILLE, Ill. - Operators at Exelon Generation's Braidwood nuclear power plant returned Unit 2 to full power today following a spring refueling and maintenance outage. Workers performed more than 10,000 inspections and maintenance activities to prep the unit for summer's high temperatures and peak demand.

'The work performed during the outage will help ensure that the plant runs reliably through the demands of summer, on into winter and the remainder of the 18-month cycle,' said Braidwood Generating Station Site Vice President Marri Marchionda-Palmer. 'At the same time, the large influx of outage workers helps power the local economy.'

The outage brought more than 1,400 highly skilled technicians to the area in support of the station's 800 full-time employees. In all, Exelon Generation's five spring refueling outages in Illinois will create more than 7,000 temporary jobs and pump tens of millions in economic activity into the communities surrounding the plants.

Braidwood Generating Station is one of six high performing Illinois nuclear facilities owned and operated by Exelon Generation, and it provides clean, safe and reliable power to more than two million residents and businesses.

Braidwood is located 20 miles southwest of Joliet, Ill., and has been producing carbon-free electricity since 1988. Nearly half of Illinois's electricity, and more than 90 percent of Illinois' carbon-free power, is supplied by Exelon Generation's nuclear power stations.