TVA plant to shut down for maintenance

CUMBERLAND CITY, Tenn. (AP) — A coal-fired power plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority has been shut down and won’t produce electricity for two months because of planned maintenance.

The Cumberland Fossil Plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee will undergo work involving rebuilding and upgrading the entire unit.

TVA spokesman Jimmie Hopson told The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/1wQkg5N ) the agency opted to take advantage of a low power demand period to do the work.

The unit is the largest fossil fuel plant in TVA’s fleet. The Cumberland Fossil Plant generates more than 18 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power about 1.2 million homes.

The huge turbines in each unit are spun at 3,600 RPMs by pressurized steam. The turbines turn generators that can make up to 2,600 megawatts of electricity.

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Information from: The Leaf-Chronicle, http://www.theleafchronicle.com

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