Progress N.C. Brunswick 2 reactor up to 70 pct
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Progress Energy Inc's (PGN.N) 937-megawatt Unit 2 at the Brunswick nuclear power station in North Carolina ramped up to 70 percent power by early Friday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.
On Thursday, the unit was operating at 20 percent of capacity after exiting an outage.
The unit shut on Aug. 30 due to a mismatch of power between the main generator and the turbine steam pressure line.
The 1,875 MW Brunswick station is located in Southport in Brunswick County, about 160 miles south of Raleigh. It has two units, the 938 MW Unit 1 and Unit 2, which entered service in 1977 and 1975.
Unit 1 continued to operate at full power.
One MW powers about 700 homes in North Carolina.
In 2006, the NRC renewed the plant's original 40-year operating licenses for both units for another 20 years until 2036 and 2034.
Progress Energy operates the station for its owners, Progress (81.7 percent) and North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (18.3 percent).
Progress owns and operates more than 21,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to about 3.1 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Green Shoots / Brown Weeds
Jobless claims drop steeply
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, although the data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry. Full Article
Bad weather hurts retail sales
Sales fell at many U.S. apparel retailers and warehouse club stores in June as the weak economy and cool, rainy weather dashed interest in summer shopping for consumers across the country. Full Article




