It’s generated more than 323 million net megawatt hours of electricity, contributed more than $1 billion to the communities in which it operates and volunteered tens of thousands of hours in support of local organizations – and now Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant is celebrating another achievement – 20 years of reliable operations.
“When we got to the summit as constructors and testers and builders, our lives changed in one day,” recalled Jim Uehlein, a nuclear analyst. “We became operators and custodians of something that is very important. This plant is important to the company and its people, as well as to the state of Texas.”
“Comanche Peak is much more than a source of dependable electricity, it’s a dedicated community partner, committed to supporting its neighbors and providing stable, well-paying jobs,” added Rafael Flores, Luminant’s chief nuclear officer. “We are proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last 20 years and look forward to continuing our tradition of safety, operational excellence and community involvement for many years to come.”
Since Unit 1 achieved commercial operation on Aug. 13, 1990, the plant and its employees have made the following significant contributions:
- Provided thousands of jobs during construction and commissioning, as well as more than 1,000 permanent full-time positions.
- Implemented a variety of proven, successful safety programs which have contributed to the plant’s current 3.5 million safe work hour streak.
- Logged nearly 1,000 employee volunteer hours in the last year alone.
- Continued financing of the more than $45 million construction of Lake Granbury with roughly $1 million per year in revenue bonds.
“I’ve talked to other people from other plants and from what I hear, we’re one of the best plants in the world,” shared Chris Alexander, current plant employee and the original reactor operator who first synched Unit 1 to the grid.
For more employee memories, check out a new video on Luminant’s YouTube channel; a gallery of vintage photos from the construction and commissioning period is available on Flickr.
Finally, for background on Comanche Peak, simply click here for a plant fact sheet.
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