Czech nuclear plants cut output to 29.7 TWh last year, plan to increase it this year

The Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power plants generated 29.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity last year, down 0.7 TWh year on year. This year, the plants plan to increase their output by more than seven percent. This is expected to be achieved through higher capacity at the Dukovany units and fewer outages for refuelling. ČTK was informed today by Ladislav Kříž, spokesperson for ČEZ. Nuclear power plants account for around 40 percent of total domestic electricity generation.

The Temelín nuclear power plant supplied 15 TWh of electricity to the transmission grid last year, while Dukovany supplied a further 14.7 TWh.

Energy sector executives plan to increase supply from both plants this year. This is expected to be helped by boosting the capacity of the Dukovany units and by just one refuelling outage at Temelín this year. „For example, the most recent outage at Temelín involved the most demanding scope of work in the plant's history. At Dukovany, we are currently focused on completing the capacity increase project, which is still to be carried out on the fourth unit. However, the permitting process and technical changes have been under way for more than five years,“ said Daniel Beneš, chairman of the board and CEO of the ČEZ Group.

The energy company has not disclosed a specific nuclear generation plan for this year, but ČEZ says it aims to move closer to its long-term „B32T“ target, which indicates an average annual electricity supply of 32 TWh.

„From now on, output from our nuclear power plants will vary significantly from year to year. In one year we will have fewer outages, and in the next more, as a result of the extended fuel cycles. We are not looking to break records for their own sake; safety always comes first. Over the long term, however, electricity supply should increase on average,“ said Bohdan Zronek, member of the board and director of the ČEZ Group's Nuclear Energy Division.

According to ČEZ, nuclear power plants have accounted for a growing share of Czech electricity consumption in recent years. Temelín is gradually switching to longer, 18-month fuel cycles, while energy sector executives have already completed the transition to 16-month cycles at Dukovany. Both Czech nuclear power plants will operate for at least 60 years.

Dukovany currently has four operating nuclear units, each with a capacity of 510 megawatts (MW). Two more units, each with a capacity of approximately 1000 megawatts (MW), are at Temelín in South Bohemia.

Last year, the government decided to build two new reactors at Dukovany. They are to be built by South Korean company KHNP, with which ČEZ is now negotiating a final contract. It aims to conclude the contract by the end of this March. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred option of building two reactors is 400 billion crowns. The first of the new reactors at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036. Under the government’s decision, over the next three to five years the energy company ČEZ should also negotiate with the Koreans an option to build two more units at Temelín.

In addition to conventional units, ČEZ is also preparing to build small modular reactors. It plans to work with British company Rolls-Royce SMR on their development. The first modular reactor is expected to be built at the Temelín plant site in the first half of the 2030s.

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