UPDATE 1-FPL shuts Wisc. Point Beach 1 reactor for refuel

(Updates with company comment)

NEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) - FPL Group Inc (FPL.N) shut the 514-megawatt Unit 1 at the Point Beach nuclear power station in Wisconsin for refueling and maintenance on Oct. 4, a spokeswoman for the plant said Monday.

She could not say when the unit would return to service due to competitive reasons but noted this would be a routine refueling outage with no major overhauls.

Electricity traders guessed the unit would return in about a month.

It last shut for refueling from March 31 to May 8, 2007. It is on an 18-month refueling cycle.

The 1,026 MW Point Beach station is located in Two Creeks in Manitowoc County about 35 miles southeast of Green Bay. There are 514 MW two units at the station, which entered service in 1970 and 1972.

Unit 2 continued to operate at full power.

One MW powers about 800 homes in Wisconsin.

In 2005, the NRC renewed the plant's original 40-year operating licenses for another 20 years until 2030 and 2033.

FPL, of Juno Beach, Florida, owns and operates about 38,000 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 Scott DiSavino; Editing by David Gregorio)