Improving outages at Oconee

In its early years the Oconee nuclear power plant had problems which affected its outages, and it was plagued with forced outages. Later outages were partly dictated by Three Mile Island backfits, and it is only in the last few years that the operator has gained control. The last six refuelings have decreased markedly in length: all were 41-45 days. The safety of the plant has increased as outages shorten, but the success of an outage cannot be measured just by its length -the work that is to be accomplished and the time taken must both be considered. Strategies for successful outage management are discussed. (author)