Saturday, August 26, 2017

Contractor layoffs set for TMI, other plants




Nearly 300 contract workers face layoffs after Exelon Corp. switched vendors at three power plants in Pennsylvania, including two in the midstate.

Layoff notices provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry indicate that Aptim Services LLC is scheduling layoffs this month at Three Mile Island Nuclear Station in Dauphin County (99 workers), Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in York County (108 workers), and Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County (89 workers).

Louisiana-based Aptim did not respond to a request for comment.


Exelon spokesman David Marcheskie said the workers provided supplemental skilled labor, and included welders, pipefitters, insulators, and janitorial services.

"We work with organized labor and specialty contractors to support work at our stations and the number of contract workers needed has not changed," Marcheskie said. "We simply are contracting work now through Allied Power Systems instead of Aptim."

Marcheskie said he could not comment further when asked about the reason behind the change.

Three Mile Island, which has lost $300 million over the past five years, faces closure in 2019. Exelon has said it cannot afford to keep the plant open without regulatory changes to support the nuclear industry.

While many in the region are against the move, opponents led by gas industry sources have argued that taxpayers should not be called upon to support the nuclear power sector.

Peach Bottom, meanwhile, has had more success. Exelon is seeking an extension of its federal operating license that would extend the plant's life into the 2050s.
 


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