Improving Nuclear Power Plant Performance: An Assessment of the US Nuclear Fleet Outage Performance (1990-2005)

Report Date: July 2006
Appendices: No

Abstract

Nuclear plant outage data from 1990 to 2005 was analyzed in order to identify outage duration trends and to make recommendations for ways plants can improve their outage duration performance. While it is recognized that successful outage performance includes many factors, outage duration is judged significant enough to warrant this focused study. Performance was assessed by calculating the planned and unplanned capacity loss (PCL and UCL) rates in each PWR and BWR cycle for every plant in the U.S. High performance targets were set at 2% UCL for both PWRs and BWRs and 5.5% PCL for PWRs and 4.1% PCL for BWRs. Performance achievement, particularly performance consistency from cycle to cycle, was analyzed by assessing a plant's trajectory in the PCL vs UCL space. While the US nuclear fleet has made significant improvements overall in outage duration performance since 1990, this performance has deteriorated in recent years, the best overall performance being achieved between 2001-02. Based upon the trajectory characteristics exhibited by the better performing plants, it is suggested that managers initially focus their efforts on improving the plant's unplanned loss rate by enhancing equipment reliability and human performance and then trying to reduce planned outage rate through disciplined scheduling and efficient shutdown work. The outage data demonstrates the success of this strategy, as plants that were able to achieve high and consistent performance in recent years usually reduced their unplanned outage rate before reducing the planned outage rate.

Program:     NSP Nuclear Systems Enhanced Performance

Type:     TR 

RPT. No.: 22