Operating Plant Initiatives
The EPRI Operating Plant Initiatives (OPI) Program provides the technical foundation, methods, and guidance to support long-term operations, power uprates, plant upgrades, and the application of advanced analytics. It brings together research, tools, and industry collaboration to help utilities evaluate options, prioritize investments, and implement practical, cost-effective solutions across both the existing fleet and advanced reactor designs.
This page serves as a central entry point to explore each program area and access supporting resources, tools, and ongoing work.
Program Focus Areas
Long-Term Operations (LTO)
Supports safe and economical operation over the long term by addressing aging management, materials degradation, and long-term asset strategies. This work contributes to industry efforts such as Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) and International Generic Aging Lessons Learned (I-GALL) and provides methods to inform asset preservation and extended life decisions.
Modernization / Digital Transformation
Modernization improvements encompass any concept, project, or activity that uses technology to improve how nuclear power plants are operated and/or maintained, with the overarching goal of reducing operations and maintenance (O&M) costs and improving workforce labor efficiency for fleet, site, or unit level.
The Plant Modernization Toolbox Wiki is a resource to facilitate decision-making and execution of the modernization process at nuclear power plants. It contains tools, aids, and lists of potential improvements to help identify and evaluate cost savings from technology and process enhancements.
Digital Transformation is focused on application of digital technology and integration with digital transformation efforts, such as business process automation, to reduce operating costs and improve productivity, reliability, and safety.
Data-Driven Decision Making (3DM)
Applies data science, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML) to improve operational insight and decision-making. This work supports development of common methods, tools, and data practices to enable consistent, data-informed outcomes and scalable analytics applications across the nuclear enterprise.
Power Uprates
Provides technical guidance and operating experience to support safe and effective increases in plant output. This includes methods to evaluate feasibility, inform investment decisions, and support planning and execution of uprate projects as part of broader generation and decarbonization strategies.