AEP Mich. Cook 2 reactor exits outage, back at full

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - American Electric Power Co Inc's (AEP.N) 1,060-megawatt Unit 2 at the Cook nuclear power station in Michigan exited an outage and ramped up to full power by early Monday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.

The unit shut on July 26 due to a reactor coolant pump seal malfunction.

The 2,069 MW Cook station is located in Bridgman in Berrien County about 80 miles 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 1 meanwhile shut on Sept. 20 after rotor blades on two of the three low pressure turbines broke. AEP has said Unit 1 could return in October at reduced output of about 900 MW following the repair of some of the rotors.

The company does not expect the unit to return to full power until the fall of 2011 when the remaining damaged rotors are repaired.

If the repairs are not successful for an October restart, the unit could remain shut until 2011, the company said.

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

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 Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)