Strike would not shut Entergy Mass. Pilgrim reactor

NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Entergy Corp (ETR.N) does not expect to have to shut the 685-megawatt Pilgrim nuclear power station in Massachusetts if the plant's unionized workers go on strike, a spokesman for the plant said Tuesday.

"We are still negotiating and have until Thursday (May 15) at midnight. Management is hopeful the parties will come to a settlement," plant spokesman Dave Tarantino said.

Tarantino said Pilgrim had a contingency plan in place to keep the unit running that included housing and feeding the independent contractors and workers and management from some of Entergy's other nuclear sites.

Entergy, the second biggest nuclear power company in the United States, operates 10 nuclear plants across the nation.

Pilgrim has been here before.

Four years ago, the company settled with workers at the last minute to avert a strike and in 1986 the workers did go on strike for about two weeks. The reactor however was not operating during the 1986 strike due to non-strike related reasons, the plant spokesman said.

A spokesman at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the federal agency has not shut a plant due to a strike.

He noted the NRC will send additional personnel to Pilgrim to inspect the site and make sure there is a smooth hand-off and the people operating the plant are well qualified.

The Pilgrim station, which entered service in 1972, is located in Plymouth, about 40 miles south of Boston.

One MW powers about 1,000 homes in Massachusetts.

Entergy said in November 2007 it wanted to create a separate publicly traded company to operate its non-utility nuclear rectors, including Pilgrim. The company hopes to complete the spin-off in the third quarter of 2008.

Entergy, of New Orleans, 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)