Waterford -  The Unit 2 reactor at Millstone Power Station is back at full power this morning after owner Dominion repaired leaking tubes in a feedwater heater.

The reactor went completely back online at 10 a.m., said Dominion spokesman Ken Holt. The Unit 3 reactor continues to operate at full power.

Over the weekend, two tubes were found leaking in one of a series of feedwater heaters. The heaters are used to heat water that is fed back into a steam generator to create steam, which is then piped to a turbine that is turned to generate electricity. The water circulates through the tubes as it is being heated.

Plant operators brought the reactor down to half power Saturday night and early Tuesday finished plugging the two tubes and strengthening eight adjacent tubes, said Holt.

The high pressure of water coming through the tubes because of the leaks required the fixes on the adjacent tubes, he said.

The water passing through the tubes is not on the radioactive side of reactor and never comes into contact with the reactor, according to Dominion and Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

- Patricia Daddona