AEP hopes to return Michigan Cook 1 reactor in Nov

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA Nov 2 (Reuters) - American Electric Power Co Inc (AEP.N) hoped to restart the 1,009-megawatt Unit 1 at the Cook nuclear power station in Michigan in November, Mike Morris, AEP chairman said at the Edison Electric Institute financial conference on Monday.

Last month, AEP said the unit would return by the end of 2009.

Earlier in the year, AEP said it expected Unit 1 to return in 2009 as early as October. October was the best case scenario for a return from projections early in the year, the company said.

Unit 1 shut on Sept. 20, 2008, after rotor blades on two of the three low pressure turbines broke. AEP said in the past Unit 1 could return this year at reduced output of about 900 MW following the repair of some of the rotors.

The company also said the unit would likely return to full power in the fall of 2011 when the repaired rotors were replaced.

AEP estimated the $330 million cost to fix Unit 1 would be covered by warranty and insurance.

The 2,069-MW Cook station is located in Bridgman in Berrien County about 80 miles (129 km) east of Chicago. There are two units at the station, the 1,009-MW Unit 1 and the 1,060-MW Unit 2, which entered service in 1975 and 1978. The NRC renewed the units' original 40-year operating licenses in 2005 for another 20 years to 2034 and 2037.

Unit 2 continued to operate at full power early Monday, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission report.

One MW powers about 800 homes in Michigan.

AEP, of Columbus, Ohio, owns and operates more than 38,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady and Scott DiSavino)