The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is reducing the number of contractors supporting its Bellefonte nuclear plant project to ‘better match resources with current business needs.’
“Bellefonte is integral to building a balanced energy portfolio and TVA being a leader in safe, clean and reliable nuclear energy production,” says David Stinson, vice president, Bellefonte project. “However, with construction at Bellefonte not beginning until fuel is loaded at Watts Bar 2, we are resetting priorities at the site.”
About 900 contractors currently support the Bellefonte project and around half of them work at the site. Around 430 of those positions will be affected, according to TVA, with about 20% at the Bellefonte site.
“We began releasing contract workers supporting Bellefonte this week and will continue through mid-May,” said Stinson.
Stinson said that other priorities for the project include defining a timeframe to verify remaining construction work and the rate at which it can be performed. Additional areas of focus include incorporating lessons learned from Fukushima and Watts Bar unit 2 construction, establishing processes to identify and mitigate risks and putting in place infrastructure for effective planning and project controls.
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