In 1974, construction began on the nation’s 100th nuclear power plant.
From the mid-1970s through its opening on Nov. 18, 1987, highly skilled and highly trained electrical workers put in millions of man-hours to construct the Perry Nuclear Power Plant.
maintenance on exterior high mast lights
at Perry Nuclear Power Plant.
When this vital power facility requires any type of electrical maintenance or electrical systems upgrade, the region’s top electrical contractors, who are part of Electricians Work, bring the region’s top electrical workers into the plant to complete the work under a tight deadline to perform a variety of tasks.
Nuclear work varies, but a great deal of manpower is needed to run 4-inch conduit, pull 750 MCM cable, rig (occasionally rather complex) large transformers and motors inside areas of the plant and install high voltage transformers. A small amount of time is also dedicated to wire work of controls and instrumentation.
Electrical workers must follow an extensive set of rules in addition to general industry standards they have received during apprenticeship training. They frequently have the opportunity to provide input into the design process of future work because they interact with engineers on a daily basis during larger projects. Oftentimes, they are asked to provide ideas to rework or replace components of legacy equipment. Electrical workers also build equipment used to make the installation process more efficient.
transformer at Perry Nuclear Power Plant.
During outages, which occur every two years, electrical workers install transformers, temporary cable, disconnects and approximately 40 trailer hook-ups to provide power in the facilities for an additional 700 personnel to work the outage. They also install instrumentation in the lower spent fuel pool to ensure the level of the water remains within the tightly controlled temperature parameters.
Electricians and installer techs work closely with the reactor generator manufacturer during a re-fueling outage when they work underneath the reactor vessel to replace and repair cables in the Loose Parts Remote Monitoring system.
Over a period of four years (two outages) electricians installed two 345/13.8kV start-up transformers; rigged structural components of the transformer (insulators, corona rings, neutral resistor, termination boxes, etc.), performed 13.8 kV cable repair and terminations and instrumentation and control circuit installation.
an original early 80’s vintage seismic monitoring
system with a state-of-the-art industry system.
In the radiation waste control room, an Electricians Work contractor recently updated an analog control system to PLC technology. This work was done while the system was still operational – necessitating close cooperation with Plant Operations personnel and careful orchestration of scheduled activities in the plant that would affect the system. Electricians installed new trough near existing cabinets and ran 3-inch and 4-inch conduit to make it possible to replace the old system with the new. Approximately 13,000 terminations were completed in the cabinets before a lengthy check and test process ensured that the system functioned as designed.
Electricians Work contractors were also selected to replace the original early 1980s seismic monitoring system with a state-of-the-art industry system. Electrical workers welded supports and installed approximately 500 feet of conduit on multiple levels of the plant, both inside and outside of containment, pulled thousands of feet of wire and installed the new seismic monitoring equipment.
If you are an electrician and want to take the next step in your career by potentially working at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, please fill out the form on this page and an Electricians Work representative will be in touch with you.
