Entergy Miss. Grand Gulf reactor shut
NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Entergy Corp's (ETR.N) 1,266-megawatt Grand Gulf nuclear power station in Mississippi shut by early Monday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.
On Friday, the unit was operating at 98 percent power as it coasted down for a planned month-long refueling and maintenance outage expected to start in mid September.
The unit last shut for refueling from March 19-April 13, 2007. It is on an 18-month cycle.
The Grand Gulf station, which entered service in 1985, is located in Port Gibson in Claiborne County, about 130 miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
One MW powers about 500 homes in Mississippi.
Entergy operates the station for its owners, Entergy (90 percent) and South Mississippi Electric Power Association (10 percent).
In February 2007, Entergy filed with the NRC through NuStart Energy Development LLC for permission to build one of General Electric Co (GE.N)/Hitachi Ltd's (6501.T) 1,550 MW Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ESBWR) at Grand Gulf. The company however has not yet decided whether it will build the new reactor.
If the company decides to move forward with the new reactor, it could cost an estimated $6.2 billion (at about $4,000 per kilowatt) and enter service as soon as 2017.
The company also said it plans to file with the NRC in January 2010 to renew the plant's original 40-year operating license for another 20 years.
Entergy, of New Orleans, Louisiana, owns and operates about 30,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes power to 2.7 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)
