Constellation's Ginna nuclear plant oversight rises

HOUSTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Thursday it will increase oversight at Constellation Energy Group Inc's (CEG.N) 498-megawatt Ginna nuclear power station in New York, according to a release.

An NRC inspection team investigating multiple failures of an auxiliary feedwater pump found that Ginna had identified corrosion of a pump component in 2005, but did not take adequate corrective action to prevent the problem.

The turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump is part of a back-up system designed to remove heat from the reactor in the event of an accident.

While the finding ranks as "white," or of low to moderate safety significance, it follows a similar finding issued in December 2008, the NRC said.

That put the plant into the "degraded cornerstone" column of the NRC's "action matrix" which calls for the plant to have a supplemental inspection, according to the release.

"Overall, Ginna continues to operate safely," said Samuel J. Collins, NRC Region I administrator. "However, these findings represent performance issues and a trend that needs to be understood and addressed."

Timing of the additional inspection has not been set, the NRC said.

The Ginna station, which entered service in 1970, is located in Wayne County, about 20 miles east of Rochester, New York. The NRC renewed the plant's original operating license in 2004 for another 20 years, or until 2029.

Constellation, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, owns and operates about 9,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities in North America, and transmits and distributes electricity to 1.2 million customers and natural gas to 630,000 customers in Maryland. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady; Editing by Marguerita Choy)