PG&E Calif. Diablo Canyon 2 reactor up to 73 pct power

NEW YORK Nov 13 (Reuters) - PG&E Corp's (PCG.N) 1,118-megawatt Unit 2 at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California ramped up to 73 percent power by early Friday from 48 percent early Thursday after exiting a refueling, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.

The unit shut by Oct. 5.

It last shut for refueling from about Feb. 3 to April 14, 2008. It is on a 20- to 22-month refueling cycle.

The 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon station is located in Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County about 195 miles (310 km) northwest of Los Angeles. The station has two units, the 1,122-MW Unit 1 and the 1,118-MW Unit 2, which entered service in 1985 and 1986.

Unit 1 continued to operate at full power.

One MW powers about 700 homes in California.

PG&E, of San Francisco, owns and operates more than 6,200 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to almost 5.3 million customers and natural gas to 4.2 million customers in California. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)