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Unit 1 at Susquehanna Nuclear Plant Returns to Service

BERWICK, Pa., March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Unit 1 at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear plant in Luzerne County, Pa., returned to safe and reliable electricity generation Thursday (3/10) after maintenance work on a valve was completed.

The valve is part of a backup system that can provide cooling water to the reactor in the unlikely event normal systems became unavailable. The valve is in an area of the plant where work can be done only when the plant is shut down.

Operators at the plant had safely shut down the Unit 1 reactor March 4.

"In addition to working on the valve, plant personnel did a number of other maintenance tasks that can only be done when the unit is shut down," said Timothy S. Rausch , PPL's chief nuclear officer. "Unit 1 has resumed safely and reliably generating electricity for the region."

Unit 2 at the plant continues to operate at full power.

The Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna.

PPL Susquehanna is one of PPL Corporation's generating facilities. PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., owns or controls about 19,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets, and delivers electricity and natural gas to about 5.3 million customers in the United States and the United Kingdom. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.

SOURCE PPL Susquehanna