Czech Temelín nuclear power plant has generated 300 TWh of electricity since commissioning

The Temelín nuclear power plant has generated 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity since it began operating, equivalent to more than nineteen years of electricity consumption by Czech households. The plant’s two units reached this milestone this morning. The Czech News Agency (CTK) was informed by Marek Sviták, spokesperson for the Temelín power plant. In addition to Temelín, ČEZ operates the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Třebíč region, and aims to gradually increase generation at both facilities while maintaining safety. By 2030, output is expected to rise by nearly two TWh a year.

According to Sviták, Czech households consumed 15.7 TWh of electricity last year. Temelín has generated a steady 15 TWh or more annually since 2017. Last year, it generated 16.3 TWh, and it has produced 12.7 TWh of electricity since the start of this year. „Operating nuclear power plants is not about breaking generation records. It is about the safe and responsible management of the technology entrusted to us. At the same time, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the efficiency of our plants. Higher generation naturally follows. But everything is done with the utmost emphasis on safety,“ said Bohdan Zronek, a member of the ČEZ board of directors and director of its nuclear energy division.

The transition to longer fuel cycles is also expected to help increase generation in the coming years. „We are currently in a transition phase. During the recent outage of Unit 2, we loaded 48 fresh fuel assemblies into the reactor, up from the previous 42. However, the total number of assemblies in the reactor remains unchanged at 163. Unit 2 will therefore operate for approximately eleven months, one month longer than before,“ said Jan Kruml, director of the Temelín nuclear power plant. The outage of Unit 2 ended on 7 October.

In the case of Unit 2, the energy company aims to reach the target configuration—loading fuel for a so-called 18-month fuel cycle—next year, although the full effect will not be felt until the second half of the decade.

ČEZ intends to operate both Czech nuclear power plants for at least 60 years. In the case of Dukovany, this means at least 20 more years of operation, and for South Bohemian Temelín, another 40 years.

The Temelín nuclear power plant began operating on 21 December 2000. The Dukovany plant has been in operation since 1985 and has generated 504 TWh of electricity since then.

„When they started operating, each of the Temelín units had an output of 981 MWe (electrical megawatts). Thanks to modifications, innovations and the use of available reserves, that figure is now 105 MWe higher, and regularly exceeds 1100 MWe in colder periods. The units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant have also undergone similar modifications and safe output increases. The combined output of both plants has therefore risen by 500 MWe, equivalent to that of a coal-fired power plant or a medium-sized nuclear unit, without any increase in emissions or fuel consumption,“ Sviták said.

Five of the six nuclear units in Czechia are currently in operation. The fourth Dukovany unit has been offline since 13 October for a fuel change and safety inspection.