Kansas Wolf Creek reactor may have problem to fix

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp said it might have a problem with the containment coolers that must be resolved before the 1,166-megawatt reactor can exit a refueling outage, the company told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a report.

In the report, the company said analysis indicates containment coolers may not have automatically started in slow speed following postulated main steam line break.

Officials at the company were not immediately available for comment.

According to the plant's technical specifications, the company said in the report the issue will be resolved prior to the plant entering Mode 4. The NRC has said Mode 4 for a pressurized water reactor like Wolf Creek is hot shutdown mode.

The unit shut for refueling on March 17 and is expected (by electricity traders) to return in late April.

Wolf Creek last shut for refueling from Oct. 7-Nov. 13, 2006. It is on an 18-month refueling outage.

The Wolf Creek station, which entered service in 1985, is located in Burlington in Coffey County about 70 miles south of Topeka, the state capital.

One MW powers 800 homes in Kansas.

In October 2006, the operating company filed with the NRC for a 20-year extension of the unit's original 40-year operating license.