FPL Fla. Turkey Point 4 reactor climbs to 93 pct

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - FPL Group Inc's (FPL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 693-megawatt nuclear Unit 4 at the Turkey Point power plant in Florida climbed to 93 percent power early Friday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a daily report.

On Thursday, the unit was operating at 73 percent of capacity.

The 2,196 MW Turkey Point station is located in Florida City in Miami-Dade County, about 25 miles south of Miami.

There are several units at Turkey Point: the 398 MW oil/natural gas-fired Unit 1, the 400 MW oil/gas-fired Unit 2, two 693 MW nuclear units, 3 and 4, the 1,150 MW combined-cycle gas-fired Unit 5, and a handful of 2 MW and 3 MW oil-fired turbines.

Unit 3 continued to operate at full power.

One MW powers about 300 homes in Florida.

Unit 1 entered service in 1967, Unit 2 in 1968, Unit 3 in 1972, Unit 4 in 1973 and Unit 5 in 2007.

In 2002, the NRC approved a 20-year license extension of the original 40-year operating license for both nuclear units at Turkey Point until 2032 and 2033.

FPL, of Juno Beach, Florida, owns and operates more than 31,000 MW of generating capacity across the United States, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to more than 4.5 million customers in Florida. (Reporting by Joe Silha, editing by John Picinich)