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More Energy To Come From Limerick Nuclear Power Plant

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Limerick Nuclear Power Plant will soon begin generating more electricity.

After a year of review, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Exelon permission to increase generating capacity by 1.65 percent.

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan says that doesn't sound like much but it's enough to power 50,000 households, "Over time, the increase of 1.65 percent of each of those reactors will have a significant impact on the grid."

Sheehan says neighbors of the plant won't notice anything different because the increase is made possible simply by more accurately measuring water flow.

Exelon spokesman Joe Szafran calls it a milestone. "There's always a need for clean, safe, reliable electricity on the grid and we're able to provide that with these additional megawatts."

Reported by Pat Loeb, KYW Newsradio

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