Staff Report

JENKINSVILLE — South Carolina Electric & Gas Company will take Unit 1 at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station offline Oct. 2 to begin a scheduled refueling outage. The outage, which follows an 18-month operating cycle, is the 22nd for V.C. Summer since the station began commercial operation in 1984.

“The plant has run very well during the last 18 months, and this outage will allow us to perform testing and maintenance to assure another 18 months of safe and reliable operation,” said Dan Gatlin, SCE&G vice president of nuclear operations.

Approximately one-third of V.C. Summer’s 157 fuel assemblies are replaced every 18 months. Refueling outages also allow SCE&G to perform preventive maintenance work that cannot be performed when the reactor is operating. While the 966-megawatt facility is out of service, SCE&G’s other generating plants will provide electric power for its customers.

South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a regulated public utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 695,000 customers in 24 counties in the central, southern and southwestern portions of South Carolina. The company also provides natural gas service to approximately 342,000 customers in 38 counties in the state.