New York's Clean Energy Standard at Work: Ginna's Refueling Outage Powers Local Economy

ONTARIO, N.Y. - Operators removed Exelon Generation's R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant from service just after midnight on Monday to begin the station's planned refueling outage. The shutdown ended a successful 18-month operating cycle that delivered industry-leading levels of safety and reliability.

The Clean Energy Standard, approved by the Public Service Commission last August, ensures Exelon Generation's Ginna Nuclear Power Plant will continue to operate securing essential jobs, tax dollars and clean energy for the region. The economic benefits are especially visible during refueling outages when the plant brings in hundreds of temporary staff.

This year, 200 Exelon employees from around the fleet and more than 700 supplemental workers will join Ginna's team, filling local hotels, restaurants and shops. The extra staff will perform maintenance activities, tests and safety inspections on a variety of plant components and systems.

Many of the activities performed during the outage cannot be accomplished while the unit is operational and all are designed to ensure the continued safe, efficient and reliable production of emissions-free electricity.

'We applaud Governor Cuomo and the Public Service Commission for prioritizing Upstate jobs, tax dollars and clean energy. Our employees are committed to operating Ginna safely and reliably for many years to come,' said Site Vice President Bill Carsky. 'In addition to the ongoing benefits of operating Ginna, the refueling outage adds an extra boost to the local economy. Hundreds of highly-skilled nuclear professionals need places to stay, eat and shop.'

Ginna's 580 megawatts of electricity powers more than 500,000 homes and businesses with no greenhouse gas emissions. Ginna's clean power offsets more than two million tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of taking almost 400,000 cars off the road.

R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant is located on 426 acres along the south shores of Lake Ontario in Ontario, NY, about 20 miles northeast of Rochester and 53 miles southwest of Exelon's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station.