The Tennessee Valley Authority's most recent report on progress at Watts Bar 2 shows the reactor completion project on schedule, with much of the work now focused on testing.
The federal utility restarted work on the unit in 2008 after mothballing the nearly complete reactor in 1985. In the quarter running through October, the project remained on target for a December 2015 completion date, in line with a 2012 TVA board vote to extend the project's schedule and increase its budget. According to the quarterly report, spending for fiscal 2013 came in at $570.5 million, which is over the budget for the year. Nonetheless, the total project cost is projected at between $3.96 billion and $4.23 billion, which is within the range approved by TVA.
Other highlights from the quarter included the completion of 22.8 million work-hours without a lost-time accident among the 3,300 people working on the project. The quality control acceptance rate was above 97 percent. As the testing phase progresses, TVA reported that it anticipates open vessel testing will take place this spring.