Wisc. Energy Pt Beach 1 reactor back at full power

NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - Wisconsin Energy Corp.'s (WEC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 512-megawatt Unit 1 at the Point Beach nuclear power station in Wisconsin returned to full power by early Monday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.

The unit shut on June 5 due to the failure of a feedwater valve.

The 1,026 MW Point Beach station is located in Two Creeks in Manitowoc County, about 35 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin. There are two units at the station: Unit 1 and the 514 MW Unit 2, which entered service in 1970 and 1972, respectively.

Unit 2 continued to operate at full power.

One MW powers about 800 homes in Wisconsin.

The NRC in December 2005 renewed the plant's original 40-year operating licenses for another 20 years until 2030 and 2033.

An affiliate of Wisconsin Energy, Nuclear Management Co., of Hudson, Wisconsin, operates a fleet of reactors in the Upper Midwest, including Point Beach.

Wisconsin Energy agreed to sell the station to FPL Group Inc. (FPL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), of Juno Beach, Florida, for $998 million in December 2006. The companies expect to complete the deal in the third quarter of 2007.

Wisconsin Energy, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owns and operates about 6,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity (1 million) and natural gas (1 million) to customers in Wisconsin and Michigan.

FPL, of Juno Beach, Florida, owns and operates more than 31,000 MW of generating capacity across the United States, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to more than 4.4 million customers in Florida.