MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is shut down for a scheduled refueling. The plant's owner, Exelon, says .the Middletown plant was turned off just after midnight Sunday. It says more than 1,700 technical workers are in the Harrisburg area to perform inspections, upgrade equipment and do maintenance that cannot be done while the plant is operating. Exelon says one-third of the plant's radioactive fuel will be replaced, new digital equipment will be installed and the turbines that produce electricity will be overhauled.
Company spokesman Ralph DeSantis says Exelon does not make shutdown schedules public for competitive reasons, but that the shutdown is likely to last several weeks.