Exelon Illinois Braidwood 1 nuclear reactor up to 98 pct power

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Exelon Corp's 1,178-megawatt Unit

1 at the Braidwood nuclear power plant in Illinois ramped up to

98 percent power by early Thursday from 85 percent early

Wednesday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a

report.

Meanwhile, Braidwood 2 was operating at full power.

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PLANT BACKGROUND/TIMELINE

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Will

TOWN: Braceville about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of

Chicago

OPERATOR: Exelon Nuclear

OWNER(S): Exelon

CAPACITY: 2,330 MW

UNIT(S): 1 - 1,178-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactor

2 - 1,152-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactor

FUEL: Nuclear

DISPATCH: Baseload

Cost: $5.2 billion

TIMELINE:

1976 - Construction began

1988 - Both units enter service

2013 - Exelon files with NRC to renew the original 40-year

operating licenses at both reactors for another 20

years. The NRC has not yet determined when it will

decide on the license renewal application.

2026 - Unit 1 license to expire, unless renewed

2027 - Unit 2 license to expire, unless renewed