This year’s power production outage at LaSalle Station took longer than usual—two months instead of three weeks. Exelon Nuclear Communications Manager Sara Peters says the maintenance crew found more than the usual amount of work to do. The workers replaced some valves. That required precise machining.
A shutdown is done on each reactor every two years and this year was Unit 2’s turn. Peters says both units together produce enough electricity to power 2.3 million homes.