Southern Co.'s ( NYSE: SO ) Georgia Power said Friday that fuel loading has begun at the first of two new Vogtle nuclear reactors, marking the first new nuclear unit to be built in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
During fuel load, nuclear technicians and operators will transfer 157 fuel assemblies one-by-one from the Unit 3 spent fuel pool to the Unit 3 reactor core in the coming days.
Operators will bring the plant from cold shutdown to initial criticality, synchronize the unit to the electric grid and systematically raise power to 100%; Vogtle Unit 3 is projected to enter service in Q1 2023.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the go-ahead for the start of the Unit 3 fuel loading in August.
Southern ( SO ) shares recently touched a 52-week low, as utility stocks have suffered a beating in recent days with rates on short-term U.S. Treasury bills surging as inflation continues to rage .
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Fuel loading begins at Southern's Vogtle Unit 3 nuclear plant