Waterford – Unit 2 at the Millstone Power Station returned to full operations on Saturday, after a 12-day shutdown due to high water temperatures in Long Island Sound.

Ken Holt, spokesman for Millstone owner Dominion, said today that the water temperature in Niantic Bay, which provides service cooling water for the plant, is about 72 degrees.

“The water temperature had decreased to a point where we felt confident that, combined with the weather forecast, we could support safe operations,” he said.

Millstone staff will continue to monitor water temperatures closely, Holt said.

Unit 2 was shut down Aug. 12 when the water temperature in the intake channel rose above 75 degrees, the maximum allowed by the plant’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission license. This is the first time in the plant’s 37 years of operation that it had to be shut due to the water temperature.