Second unit at Czech Temelín plant returns to full power after outage

The second unit at Temelín has begun supplying electricity at full power after an outage of almost two months. Operators reached full power less than three days after connecting the unit to the transmission grid. During the outage, power industry workers replaced a third of the fuel assemblies. It was the last planned outage at Temelín this year. The first unit was shut down for just under two months, from April 7 to June 8. Temelín spokesperson Marek Sviták informed journalists today. An outage of the fourth unit at Dukovany will begin at the end of this week.

„Before reaching full power, checks were carried out at 80 percent. Our experts spent just under a day verifying the reactor’s power distribution. They carry out similar checks again after full power is reached. This is the final verification as the unit comes back online after an outage, during which physicists focus on the fuel and calibration of measurement systems. Experts also monitor the performance of other equipment in both the nuclear and non-nuclear sections, including the turbine,“ the spokesperson said.

During the outage, which began on August 18, power industry workers replaced a third of the 163 fuel assemblies and also inspected the safety systems and turbine. Around 1000 people, including contractors, took part in the work. They completed more than 16.000 tasks, including 68 investment projects.

Temelín is the country’s largest electricity producer, covering about a fifth of domestic consumption. ČEZ commissioned the power plant in December 2000. Last year, Temelín generated 16,29 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity; so far this year, it has generated 11,7 TWh.