Power company Entergy Louisiana is asking the Louisiana Public Service Commission to approve a $68.7m (€58.5m) project to boost output at its Waterford-3 nuclear power plant by about 45 MW, a move the utility says will deliver significant economic benefits to customers with minimal new costs.

Proposed upgrades would increase Waterford-3’s net electrical output from roughly 1,150 MW to about 1,195 MW, enough to power tens of thousands of additional homes without additional fuel or operations costs.