Life extension implementation strategies

The aspect of planning and managing aging and life extension issues at an operating nuclear power plant (NPP) requires a knowledge of both technical and economical issues. From a technical vantage point, identification of critical plant systems and components and evaluation of their long-term performance and behavior is ultimately important. Determination of economic implications, such as the payback period, availability gains and value engineering are equally important. The goal is to maximize plant usage for the remainder of its current operating license and to then decommission the facility. The intent of this paper is to discuss the costs and benefits of pursuing life extension using each of the first four strategies. Several case histories (ongoing life extension projects) are used to illustrate the different considerations of these strategies.