Here's the newswire writeup:
Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Completes Turbine Replacement Project in Record Time
May 10, 2004 1:29:00 PM ET
BALTIMORE, May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Constellation Energy CEG today announced that it has completed its Unit 1 low-pressure turbine replacement and refueling outage at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, 16 days ahead of schedule. The turbine replacement, which was achieved in 20 days, marks a new U.S. nuclear industry record for a three-section replacement.
"Many of our facilities, including Calvert Cliffs, are consistently top performers as compared to similar facilities throughout the nation," said Michael J. Wallace, president of Constellation Generation Group, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy. "To continually achieve operational excellence, be it successfully completing an outage or safely and reliably running our national fleet of power plants, we continually draw on our fleet-wide resources, thereby maximizing performance. This most recent performance at Calvert Cliffs is indicative of the depth of talent and expertise that lies within our team of power generation professionals."
In addition to refueling and routine maintenance activities, Constellation Generation employees and contractors completed an overhaul of an emergency diesel generator and an inspection of Alloy-600 in key piping and welds. A bare metal visual inspection and ultrasonic testing showed the reactor head to be in very good condition.
"The credit for this success goes to our employees and their ability to work as a team, particularly where it involved incorporating lessons learned from our colleagues throughout the industry," said George Vanderheyden, vice president of the Calvert Cliffs facility. "An additional key to our success is our relationships with Westinghouse, GE and AREVA and our collective ability to build a strong team solely focused on this outage. The record-setting results reflect a commitment to safety, excellence and precise execution second to none."
Calvert Cliffs' two nuclear reactors generate approximately 1,700 megawatts.
Constellation Energy (
www.constellation.com), a Fortune 500 company based in Baltimore, is the nation's leading competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and one of the nation's largest wholesale power sellers. Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy intensive industries and utilities. It owns and operates a diversified fleet of power plants throughout the United States. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland. In 2003, the combined revenues of the integrated energy company totaled $9.7 billion.