Workers at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant began loading fuel into the Unit 1 reactor Friday, a key step in returning the unit to safe and reliable operation next year as planned, officials said.

Loading the fuel is expected to take about two weeks as skilled technicians move 764 fuel bundles from the fuel storage pool to the reactor. The Unit 1 restart project is 97-percent complete with return to service scheduled by May 2007 as planned.

TVA Chief Nuclear Officer Karl Singer said he is pleased with the work being done at Browns Ferry and the transition to an operating facility.

“This significant milestone for Browns Ferry and TVA’s nuclear program means that plant systems required to move fuel to the reactor and maintain it safely have been returned to service,” Mr. Singer said. “We are returning Unit 1 to operation in a deliberate and planned manner based on our previous experience with units 2 and 3.”

Browns Ferry Vice President Brian O’Grady said, “We are committed to starting and operating the unit in a way that protects the health and safety of the public and employees while supplying needed power to the Tennessee Valley.”

To get to this milestone, skilled crafts have completed 11.2 million work hours modifying, replacing, and refurbishing systems and components, including installing about 150 miles of cable and more than 6.5 miles of pipe. TVA will also complete more than 1,200 tests and inspections to ensure that systems operate as designed, including testing individual components, testing systems as a whole and integrated testing of several systems at a time. TVA has a system checklist to ensure that all tests and specifications are complete before the system is returned to operation and regular maintenance.

“Our focus now will be on returning systems to service in the turbine building -- equipment that uses the steam from the reactor to generate electricity,” said Unit 1 Restart Vice President Masoud Bajestani. “We plan to make significant progress on that work after the first of the year as we look toward internal, regulatory, and industry tests and inspections that are required before the unit is returned to service.”

Browns Ferry is located on Wheeler Reservoir in Athens, Ala. Units 2 and 3 are capable of producing more than 1,155 megawatts of electricity each, as will Unit 1. Each unit can generate enough power to supply approximately 650,000 homes.