The power uprate of the St. Lucie Unit 1 pressurized-water reactor will increase the thermal power level to 3,020MW thermal (MWt) from the 2,700MWt.

The generating capacity of the St. Lucie nuclear plant will increase by 15% from about 853 megawatts electric (MWe) to 982MWe.

The company plans to implement the uprate in the next few months.

The NRC staff evaluated and reported that FP&L can safely increase the power output of the reactor by performing significant upgrades of several systems and components including the feedwater pumps and the high-pressure turbine of the plant.

The safety evaluation focused on nuclear steam supply systems, instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, accident evaluations, radiological consequences, fire protection, operations and training, testing, and technical specification changes.