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Energy NW Columbia Reactor Slips to 85 Percent Power by Eileen Moustakis Reuters, February 6, 2009

NEW YORK - Energy Northwest's 1,131-megawatt Columbia nuclear power station in Washington State was at 85 percent power early Friday, down from full power on Thursday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its power reactor status report.

It was not immediately known why the unit, in Richland, Washington, about 145 miles southwest of Spokane, had been reduced.

The unit is slated to shut for refueling and maintenance on May 10, based on historical outages at the plant.

One MW powers about 800 homes in Washington State.

Energy Northwest told the NRC it would file in Jan. 2010 for a 20-year extension of the original 40-year operating license for the reactor.

Energy Northwest, of Richland, Washington, is a joint operating company comprising 24 member utilities that owns and operates nearly 1,300 MW of generating capacity, which it supplies to the utilities.