WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2005--GE Energy's nuclear business has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to upgrade monitoring and control systems at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant near Berwick, Pa.
GE is supplying PPL Susquehanna, LLC with its Power Range Neutron Monitor (PRNM) system, based on GE's high-speed digital technology. It will upgrade Susquehanna's original power monitoring equipment.
GE Energy's PRNM technology takes advantage of several enhanced features to improve plant operations and includes automated system surveillance testing.
The primary function of the PRNM is to monitor the reactor power level and initiate automatic protective actions to ensure compliance with plant safety limits. The system collects and processes signals from in-core detectors and communicates with the core-monitoring computer, display computer and other plant systems.
The contract includes design, hardware and software, engineering, licensing support, operator display assemblies, installation support and training.
"This order is further evidence of the strong relationship between GE Energy and PPL Susquehanna," said Andy White, President and CEO of GE Energy's nuclear business. "GE is responding to a growing demand for its digital monitoring and control systems as operators in the United States and around the world seek to upgrade their existing reactors."
Susquehanna, a two-unit, 2,352-megawatt boiling water reactor (BWR) station, is owned by PPL Susquehanna, LLC (90 percent) and the Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc. (10 percent). The station is located on 2,100 acres along the Susquehanna River in Salem Township, Luzerne County, 25 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre.
Susquehanna's two reactors are among the 103 units currently operating in the United States. GE is the plant's original equipment manufacturer. Unit 1 began commercial operations in 1983 and Unit 2 in 1985.
The PRNM system will be installed in Unit 1 in March 2006, during the reactor's biannual refueling and maintenance outage. The new system will then be installed in Unit 2 in March 2007, during that reactor's scheduled outage.
PPL Susquehanna, LLC is a subsidiary of Allentown-based PPL Corp., which controls more than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
GE Energy's nuclear business, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, develops advanced light water reactors and provides a wide array of technology-based products and services to help owners of both boiling and pressurized water reactors safely operate their facilities with greater efficiency and output.
About GE Energy
GE Energy is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2004 revenues of $17.3 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries.
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