Czechia again generates 4 GW from nuclear after 956 days

Dukovany nuclear power plant yesterday began once again supplying its full output to the grid, i.e. nearly 2 GW. Together with the Temelín nuclear power plant, where all units are also currently operating, the country’s nuclear power plants are supplying nearly 4 GW to the grid.

The plant reached full output during the day yesterday, having been connected to the grid on Saturday. Following prolonged problems with weld inspections, the plant is thus generating electricity from all four units after more than 956 days.

Looking further back, it should be recalled that Czech nuclear power plants last supplied their full output on 27 March 2015, more than 956 days ago. (editor’s note: although all nuclear units in Czechia were operating between 26 August and 28 August 2015, Temelín’s first unit was gradually ramping up while Dukovany’s first unit was gradually reducing output. For this reason, this date was not included).

All four units at Dukovany nuclear power plant were last in operation more than two years ago, specifically on 28 August 2015 (802 days). Since then, ČEZ has effectively been dealing with outages caused primarily by the necessary inspection of documentation for X-ray images of welds.

However, Temelín nuclear power plant was not spared problems either, as welds were also inspected there. Temelín experienced its main problems in September last year, when neither of its units was generating and nuclear generation in Czechia fell below 1 GW, reaching a low of around 980 MW.

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All nuclear units in Czechia will generate until the night of 7 to 8 December this year, when Temelín’s first unit will be shut down. The next outage at Dukovany is not scheduled until 8 March next year. More information on nuclear plant outages can be found on this page.

Nuclear power plant generation is particularly important for power company ČEZ. These are among its most profitable plants, and their stable generation can therefore significantly help boost the company’s profits in the coming years, given forward electricity sales. According to data published by ČEZ, nuclear power plants have fuel costs up to half those of local lignite-fired power plants.