AEP begins reactor refuel at idled Cook, Mich nuke

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

AEP begins reactor refuel at idled Cook, Mich nuke
  
NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - American Electric Power Co. (AEP) 
<AEP.N> said Tuesday it began refueling the idled 1,090-megawatt (MW) 
Cook 2 nuclear unit in Michigan on Monday in preparation for a 
scheduled April 22 plant restart. 

The Cook plant, near Bridgman, Michigan, had been shut since 
September, 1997 for extensive upgrades after a Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) inspection raised safety concerns over the plant's 
design. 

The refueling activities follow a number of successful system tests 
recently completed at the Cook plant. 

"This is one more indication that we are getting closer to restarting 
Unit 2 and getting back into the power generation business in time 
for this summer's peak demand," Bob Powers, AEP senior vice president 
of nuclear generation, said in a statement. 

The primary remaining restart activities include post-maintenance 
testing of equipment that was serviced during the outage, completion 
of required documentation, and the systematic heat-up and start-up of 
the unit. 

"Restart of Unit 2 is clearly in the home stretch," Powers said. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was planning to perform a 
final pre-restart inspection to monitor heat-up and start-up 
operations and complete any remaining inspection items or licensing 
actions. The next scheduled meeting with Cook plant personnel and the 
NRC was scheduled for April 18. 

The most comprehensive test required for restart of the unit -- load 
sequence testing -- was successfully completed last week, the company 
said. The test was designed to make sure all plant safety systems 
work together as designed. 

AEP has targeted September 1 as the restart date for the adjacent 
1,020 MW Cook Unit 1. 

AEP, based in Columbus, Ohio, provides electricity to three million 
customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, 
and West Virginia. 

In December 1997, AEP agreed to merge with Central and South West 
Corp. <CSR.N>, a public utility holding company based in Dallas. 
CSW's U.S. operations serve 1.7 million customers in Texas, Oklahoma, 
Louisiana and Arkansas. 

The companies are awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange 
Commission. Upon completion of the merger, the new company will be 
called American Electric Power. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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