Federal regulators have granted permission to Connecticut's nuclear power plant to use warmer sea water for cooling at one of its two stations in Waterford.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Monday the Millstone 2 plant may use Long Island Sound water as warm as 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The NRC is still considering a similar request for Millstone 3.
Millstone 2 shut down for nearly two weeks in August 2012 because the water was warmer than the 75-degree limit. It was the first shutdown of a nuclear power plant on an open body of water.
Water is used to cool key components of the plant, and is discharged back into the sound.
The NRC said it found that the plant's safety equipment and systems would continue to function without problems with the higher temperature limit.
Millstone provides half of Connecticut's power.
