UPDATE 1-Progress N.C. Brunswick 2 reactor up to 73 pct

(Updates production figure, mentions no expected storm impact)

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 73 percent power by midday Friday, the company said.

That is up from 70 percent during the wee-hours daily snapshot of U.S. reactor production gathered by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and from 20 percent during the NRC snapshot.

Tropical Storm Hanna is not expected to alter production at the plant, said Ali Sanders, a Progress spokeswoman, who added that plant workers have braced for the storm. Hanna was expected to land Saturday morning near the border of South Carolina and North Carolina.

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 Bernie Woodall and Scott DiSavino; Editing by Christian Wiessner)