Last week Columbia Generating Station set a new record for its longest continuous operational run -683 days, its previous record – 505 days was set in April 2011. Columbia achieved what’s known as a “breaker to breaker” run for the first time in its 30-year history, meaning the plant has been operating non-stop since reconnecting to the grid on June 25, 2013, following its previous refueling outage.

During the 683-day run, Columbia produced nearly 18 million megawatt-hours of electricity and operated at a more than 98 percent capacity factor.

“This record run is about keeping our commitment to the region to produce clean, reliable and cost-effective power for the long-term,” said Mark Reddemann, Energy Northwest CEO. “I’m proud of our team and their many accomplishments over the last two years.”

Columbia began a 42-day refueling and maintenance outage that will include several major projects and the loading of 248 new, higher-efficiency, nuclear fuel assemblies into the reactor core. An additional 1,500 skilled outage workers were hired locally and from across the country to support maintenance projects throughout the plant