America's oldest nuclear power plant shutting down Monday

FILE - This 2010 file photo shows Exelon Corp.’s Oyster Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power plant in Lacey Township, N.J. America’s oldest nuclear power plant is shutting down Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. (Peter Ackerman/The Asbury Park Press via AP, File)

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – America’s oldest nuclear power plant is shutting down Monday.

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey will go offline at some point before 1 p.m., although officials will not say precisely when.

Recommended Videos



Oyster Creek went online Dec. 1, 1969, the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, New York.

But Oyster Creek’s original license was granted first, technically making it the oldest of the nation’s commercial nuclear reactors that are still operating.

The plant in Lacey Township near the Jersey shore has dealt with corrosion and leaks during its time in service, but its owner, Chicago-based Exelon Corp., says the plant has always been safe.

There will be 98 nuclear power plants operating in the U.S. after Oyster Creek closes.