UPDATE 2-Duke S.C. Oconee 3 reactor output rising

(Updates with current reactor status)

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp's (DUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 846-megawatt Unit 3 at the Oconee nuclear power station in South Carolina exited an outage and ramped up to 50 percent power by mid-day Monday, a company spokesman said.

The spokesman said the unit was on its way to full power production.

In a report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Duke said the reactor automatically tripped from full power on Nov. 7 due to a reactor protective system actuation.

The 2,538 MW Oconee station, which entered service in 1973-74, is located in Seneca in Oconee County about 145 miles northwest of Columbia, South Carolina. There are three 846 MW Units 1-3 at the station.

Unit 2 shut by Oct. 25 for refueling and will likely return in late November.

Unit 1 continued to operate at full power.

One MW powers about 700 homes in the Carolinas.

In 2000, the NRC renewed the plant's original 40-year operating licenses for another 20 years until 2033-2034.

Duke, of Charlotte, North Carolina, owns and operates about 39,000 MW of generating capacity in North America and Latin America, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to about 4 million U.S. customers in the Carolinas and the Midwest. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino and Eileen O'Grady; Editing by David Gregorio)