Vogtle churns out more power
By Anne Marie Kyzer annemariek@thetruecitizen.com

Operators at Plant Vogtle are stepping it up a notch.

The nuclear generating plant will be producing more power in the next few weeks.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved a request by Southern Nuclear Operating Company to increase the generating capacity for the plant in order to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Unit 1's capacity will increase from 1,109 to 1,174 megawatts when it comes back online from the spring refueling outage, which began March 16. The uprate will allow Southern Nuclear to supply more than 16,000 additional homes with power, according to Southern Nuclear spokesperson Carol Boatright.

"We're seeing more demand and continuing to add more customers. We added almost 30,000 new customers last year," she said. "This is the most economical way to meet increased energy use."

Unit 2 will increase from 1,127 to 1,173 megawatts but will not do so until after the fall refueling outage later this year.

NRC evaluations showed the plant's design could handle the production increase. The NRC also examined safety aspects, such as radiological consequences, before approving the company's request.