Browns Ferry 1, in Decatur along the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, could be restarted in about 5 years at a cost of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, TVA spokesman John Moulton told Reuters Tuesday.

Generation from Browns Ferry 1 is needed to meet rising power demand in the Southeast, which TVA estimates to be growing by about 3 percent a year.

The Browns Ferry 1 unit began service in 1974, but was shut in 1985 along with units 2 and 3 amid ongoing safety concerns.

Browns Ferry 2 returned to service in 1991 and Browns Ferry 3 returned in 1995. Both units are generating power today.

"The TVA board will consider a staff recommendation regarding the recovery and restart of Browns Ferry nuclear unit 1 and the extension of licenses to operate all three units an additional 20 years past the current 40-year operating license," Moulton said.

The operating license for Browns Ferry 1 expires in 2013, while the operating license for unit 2 expires in 2014, with an expiry of 2016 for unit 3.

The TVA board will consider asking to have all three operating licenses extended by 20 years.

TVA, a government owned company headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, supplies power to nearly eight million people throughout Tennessee and parts of Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

The company has about 29,500 MW of generating capacity, about half of which comes from coal-fired power plants, 20 percent from nuclear power plants, 20 percent from hydroelectric dams, and 10 percent from natural gas and oil-fired plants.