Florida City, FL – Florida Power & Light Company’s Turkey Point Nuclear Unit 4 returned to full power on May 16 following a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.
Unit 4 was taken offline March 31 for its 24th refueling outage since it began commercial operation in 1973. During refueling outages, scheduled about every 18 months, FPL replaces about one-third of the reactor’s fuel. Workers also performed preventive and scheduled maintenance work on a variety of plant systems and components that cannot be done when the plant is operating.
To support this effort, the plant utilized the talents and expertise of more than 1,000 additional workers, many of whom are skilled tradesmen residing in the Miami-Dade area. Others travel to Turkey Point from outside the region, providing a temporary benefit for the local economy.
“The Turkey Point team spends more than a year preparing for a unit’s refueling outage,” said Site Vice President Bill Jefferson. “The work completed during the outage will ensure that the unit will run safely and reliably throughout its next operating cycle so that our customers can continue to benefit from safe, clean and cost-effective nuclear electric generation.”
The 11,000-acre Turkey Point site is located about 25 miles south of Miami on Biscayne Bay and consists of five generating units using a diverse selection of fuels to produce electricity for south Florida homes and businesses. One unit uses natural gas, two units use oil and natural gas, and two units use nuclear power. FPL seeks diversity in fuel sources as a means to stabilize prices and assure reliability for the future.
Nuclear power is one of the best ways to provide fuel diversity and protection from fuel price volatility for customers. FPL customers have saved an estimated $9 billion in fuel costs thanks to the two Turkey Point nuclear units. Nuclear plants also protect the environment by producing zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Florida Power & Light Company is a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL), nationally known as a high quality, efficient and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services. With annual revenues of over $15 billion and a growing presence in 27 states, FPL Group is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Florida Power & Light Company serves 4.5 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, FPL Group's competitive energy subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet atwww.FPL.com, www.FPLGroup.comand www.FPLEnergy.com