Grand Gulf to see major expansion

PORT GIBSON — Entergy Mississippi Inc. announced that the Mississippi Public Service Commission approved plans for a major upgrade to the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson.

The utility said the project would be one of the largest expansions of a nuclear power plant in U.S. history and will make Grand Gulf the largest single-unit nuclear power plant in the country.

The upgrade will increase Grand Gulf’s production by more than 13 percent, bringing total output to 1,443 megawatts. Entergy Mississippi customers will benefit from a 53-megawatt increase — enough to power 53,000 typical Mississippi homes.

The total cost, estimated at $510 million, will be shared among the joint owners of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. Costs to Entergy Mississippi are estimated at $151 million. The company said it expects the additional production of power to greatly offset initial project costs, resulting in little-to-no initial impact on customers’ electricity bills, with savings on bills expected to appear within a couple of years after project implementation.

The project’s completion is scheduled for 2012. Most of the work will be accomplished during regularly scheduled maintenance outages.

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