Westinghouse Completes First-Of-A-Kind Advanced Rod Control Hybrid Installment At U.S. Utility Lead Unit

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania, Feb. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company recently completed the first successful U.S. installment and plant startup of its new digital control system solution, the Advanced Rod Control Hybrid (ARCH) as part of its 2019 fall outage campaign. ARCH is designed to provide utilities with a simplified path forward to plant modernization and to support long term operations with reduced maintenance, improved reliability and operability. A second ARCH installation is slated for the 2020 spring outage campaign.

"This installation marks a significant milestone for the nuclear industry as utilities begin to focus on instrumentation and control upgrades to support their second license renewals," said David Howell, Westinghouse president, Americas Operating Plant Services. "The innovative technology utilized in our ARCH solution offers a flexible approach to digitalization that fits our customers' operational, maintenance and financial strategies."

ARCH builds on Westinghouse's legacy of industry-leading innovation, proven design and implementation. It is designed to allow plants to transition from analog to digital rod control via a modular and scalable drop-in solution for both Westinghouse and Combustion Engineering plant designs. 

ARCH leverages the functions and features of Westinghouse's Digital Rod Control System while maintaining the plant's existing field cabling and cabinet architecture for cost-effective, lower-risk installation. The utilization of modern components and manufacturing processes addresses ever-increasing obsolescence concerns while supporting installation during a standard outage schedule.

Westinghouse Electric Company is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa., U.S. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. For more information, please visit www.westinghousenuclear.com.

Contact: Sarah Cassella
Director, External Communications
Westinghouse Electric Company
Telephone: +1 412-374- 4744
Email: cassels@westinghouse.com