BRIDGMAN, Mich., – Indiana Michigan Power’s Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2 will begin its twenty-fifth refueling outage Saturday, April 17, at 3:00 a.m. Power on Unit 2 will be reduced in the days prior to allow for equipment testing before the outage begins. The unit will have operated for 11,987.55 hours during its last cycle at a capacity factor of 98.3 percent, generating 14,181,471 megawatt-hours of electricity. 

Cook Unit 1 remains at 100 percent. Power to customers is not expected to be disrupted by the planned Unit 2 outage.

In addition to refueling the reactor and performing regular maintenance and testing work, the outage will also include an inspection of the reactor vessel’s lower support column, improvements to numerous air-operated valve actuators, a fire detection system upgrade, and a project to install improved video display units in the Control Room for the plant’s operators.

Nearly 900 contracted workers will supplement the regular 1,000-person plant staff leading up to and during the outage. More than 10,470 maintenance, inspection and equipment modification job activities totaling 155,000 work-hours are scheduled for two daily 12-hour work shifts.

As with its Unit 1 outage last fall, Cook is once again implementing increased COVID-19 safety measures to protect the health and safety of employees, outage contract workers and the community.

“While we’re seeing the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel as a nation, we’re definitely not there yet,” explained Joel Gebbie, American Electric Power’s Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer. “The recent spike in COVID cases around our state and even here in Berrien County provides plenty of reason to maintain our rigorous site protection standards. In fact, as part of the effort to keep our workforce safe, Cook Plant recently partnered with the Berrien County Health Department to provide an on-site vaccination opportunity where nearly 600 badged site workers and their family members received COVID-19 vaccinations.”

In addition to the on-site vaccinations, Cook Plant has continued its ongoing outage COVID-19 preparedness plan which was implemented a year ago and fortified in the months since the pandemic began. The plan includes:

• Rapid COVID-19 testing capabilities for on-site trace testing, if needed
• A self-screening protocol, including mandatory temperature checks for all personnel prior to entering the site’s protected area
• A strict policy for face covering and social distancing
• Sanitizing stations throughout the site for access to wipes, hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies
• Limited capacity in meeting rooms, elevators and other gathering spaces in order to maintain 6 feet of distancing
• Suspension of the plant cafeteria
• Plexiglas barriers at tables and other personal break area spaces to allow workers to rest and remove their masks safely
• Installation of several temporary buildings and conversion of non-traditional spaces to allow additional room for the workforce to be spread out
• Additional outdoor break spaces, many of which include oversized picnic tables that allow for full social distancing

Cook Nuclear Plant is owned and operated by Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP company, headquartered in Fort Wayne, IN. At full capacity, the 1,084-net MW Unit 1 and 1,194-net MW Unit 2 combined produce enough electricity for more than one and one half million average homes. Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its approximately 2,100 employees serve more than 599,000 customers. More than two-thirds of its energy delivered in 2019 was emission-free. I&M has at its availability various sources of generation including 2,278 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 MW of purchased wind generation from Indiana, more than 22 MW of hydro generation in both states and approximately 15 MW of large-scale solar generation in both states. The company’s generation portfolio also includes 2,620 MW of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.

For more information visit www.indianamichiganpower.com or www.cookinfo.com.