ATHENS, Ala. – The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 1 was safely returned to power production Saturday afternoon following a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage that prepares the unit for the next two years of generating low-cost, carbon-free electricity for approximately 2.2 million homes.

“We safely completed the necessary fuel replacement and maintenance to ensure Unit 1 provides reliable power to meet the energy needs of the Valley,” said Matt Rasmussen, Browns Ferry site vice president. “We did these tasks while keeping safety and employee health as our top priorities. We appreciate the continued commitment of our workforce in following additional health guidelines to keep everyone safe.”

More than 10,500 work activities were completed during the outage, including the installation of 316 new fuel assemblies. Other outage work activities included maintenance and upgrades to plant equipment, inspections and repairs of reactor components and refurbishment and testing of valves and electrical systems.

Recognizing the unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Browns Ferry continues to take significant actions to help protect the health and well-being of employees and supplemental workers, including required mask use and health screenings prior to plant entry each day.

Browns Ferry Unit 1 is one of seven operational TVA nuclear reactors across the Valley. Collectively, TVA’s nuclear fleet is the third largest in the nation, safely and reliably providing approximately 40% of all electricity used by nearly 10 million people in the Tennessee Valley.

For more information about TVA and its 87-year mission of service to the Tennessee Valley, click here.