Emergency Diesel Generator Problems at Peach Bottom: A chronology

       Nuclear generating stations remain one of Pennsylvania’s largest consumers 

of foreign oil. Emergency diesel generators (EDG) at Pennsylvania’s five nuclear 

generating stations burn hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil annually. For 

example, Three Mile Island (TMI) is required to have a diesel fuel oil tank with 

sufficient minimum inventory to supply two operating emergency diesel 

generators for at least seven days. This minimum inventory is 28,285 gallons. 

This equates to each emergency diesel generator consuming about 85 gallons per 

hour of run-time. EDGs must be run about two hours per month plus one 24- 

hour run per year. These generators also must be in operation during post- 

maintenance periods and after equipment breakdowns. One EDG at TMI running 

100 hours in a year consumes 8,500 gallons of fuel.