Repairs taking more time than expected, says utility
Swedish utility Vattenfall has delayed the restart of the Ringhals-4 nuclear power plant by two months to 31 January. “The unforeseen required repairs are taking more time than expected, before starting up the unit after the yearly maintenance,” Vattenfall said in a regulatory filing.
Ringhals-4, a 1,130-MW pressurised water reactor (PWR) unit that began commercial operation in 1983, was shut down in mid-August for annual maintenance when a pressure retainer was damaged.
The repair work was estimated to take three months and the planned restart was to take place at the end of November.
Ringhals-4, a 1,130-MW pressurised water reactor (PWR) unit that began commercial operation in 1983, was shut down in mid-August for annual maintenance when a pressure retainer was damaged.
The repair work was estimated to take three months and the planned restart was to take place at the end of November.
Anna Collin, press officer at Ringhals, said: “We informed the market that the shutdown of Ringhals-4 will be extended to 31 January. This is because ever since the damage occurred, work has been done to come up with a plan of how long it will take to restore the damaged component.”
Sweden has six commercial nuclear power units that supply about 30% of the country’s electricity.
A second operational PWR unit at the Ringhals station, Ringhals-3, is a 1,072-MW plant that began commercial operation in 1981.
Two older units, one a boiling water reactor and one a PWR, were shut down at Ringhals-1 and -2 in 2021 and 2019 after more than four decades of commercial operation.
