Unit 2 of the Edwin I. Hatch Electric Generating Plant near Baxley, Georgia, resumed generating electricity following completion of a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage, setting a record of 21 days and two hours for both the plant and the Southern Nuclear fleet.

Plant Hatch nuclear station in Georgia.Units 1 and 2 at the Hatch site include two General Electric boiling water reactors with a total capacity of 1,759 megawatts. Unit 1 went online in 1974 and was followed by Unit 2 in 1978.

Plant operators took Unit 2 offline Feb. 6 at midnight ET. Electricity generation resumed Monday, Feb. 27, at 2:09 a.m. ET, the company says.

In addition to refueling the reactor and performing regular maintenance and testing, workers made upgrades to plant systems and components to enhance efficiency and reliability.

Employees from across the Southern Nuclear fleet assisted Hatch's staff of more than 900 in the refueling effort. Approximately 800 additional workers from General Electric, Day and Zimmerman, and other partners performed specialized tasks.

The last refueling outage for Unit 2 was completed in spring 2015. Hatch Unit 1 continued to safely generate electricity while Unit 2 was offline for the refueling.