Event at Constellation's N.Y. nuke as refuel nears end

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters)

Constellation Energy Group Inc. said a heat removal system actuated at its 1,105 megawatt Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear unit in New York as the company prepared the unit to exit a refueling outage.

The event occurred on April 18 after a reactor pressure vessel leakage test, the company told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in an event report on Monday.

Officials were not immediately available for comment on the event.

Electricity traders said the unit was expected to exit the outage, which began on about March 16, sometime this week.

The last time the unit, which is on a 24-month cycle, shut for refueling was from March 15-April 16, 2002.

Meanwhile, the 565 MW Unit 1 continued to operate at full power.

The Nine Mile Point station is located in Ontario, New York, about 20 miles east of Rochester, New York.

Constellation, of Baltimore, owns all of unit 1 and operates unit 2 for its owners: Constellation (82 percent) and Long Island Power Authority (18 percent).

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