UPDATE 2-FirstEnergy shuts Ohio Perry reactor
(Updates with company comment)
NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - FirstEnergy Corp (FE.N) shut the 1,231-megawatt Perry nuclear power station in Ohio on Oct. 16, a spokesman for the company said Friday.
During a test on Thursday, one of the emergency service water pumps tripped. The spokesman said operators decided to take the reactor off line from full power early Thursday to investigate why the pump tripped.
When the unit reached about 30 percent, the spokesman said, a reactor recirculation pump did not shift into slow speed as it should and operators decided to manually shut the reactor.
He could not say when the unit would likely return to service noting workers were looking into what caused the emergency service water pump to trip.
Electricity traders guessed it would return within a week.
The Perry station, which entered service in 1987, is located in North Perry in Lake County about 35 miles northeast of Cleveland.
One MW powers about 800 homes in Ohio.
FirstEnergy plans to file with the NRC in August 2013 to renew the reactor's original 40-year operating license for another 20 years.
FirstEnergy, of Akron, Ohio, owns and operates nearly 14,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to about 4.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)
