Dukovany Units Two and Three are going to be gradually taken off-line today and tomorrow. Experts will check piping welds at the units. The power plant wants to verify test results from previous outages.
Operators at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant are starting to gradually take Unit Two off-line. Unit Three will follow tomorrow. Experts will review the outputs of some weld tests at the units. The power plant wants to verify some test results from previous outages, which they think might not be completely conclusive. In addition, an application for extension of the power plant’s operation is going to be submitted later this year, so the management wants to avoid any issues. “This will affect our operating results but safety is our absolute priority. And we want to be completely sure. We are submitting an application for extension of operation for Unit One by the end of the month, so we have to check everything thoroughly,” says Miloš Štěpanovský, power plant director.
“This will involve mostly taking new X-ray images of weld joints in both the nuclear and the non-nuclear portions of the two units. We are definitely not shutting down due to a failure. This is about making absolutely certain the plant is all right. And because the documentation we have is not good enough, some selected welds are going to be re-checked. Simply speaking, we will for example take new X-ray pictures,” elaborates Jiří Bezděk, the power plant spokesman.
The outage of the Dukovany units occurs at a moment when there is also a planned refuelling outage at Dukovany Unit One and one of the Temelín units is also out of operation. The Czech Republic’s nuclear generating capacity will thus be down by more than a half. However, power engineers say there is no need to worry about electricity shortage.
“The outage of the Dukovany units will be compensated for by the start-up of our other facilities. So there is definitely no need to worry about a shortage of electricity,” says Barbora Půlpánová, CEZ Group spokeswoman.
The exact duration of the outages is going to be specified by the operator in the next few days. It will depend on contractors’ capacities, according to the operator. Moreover, the checks require cooling down the plant gradually and insulating the equipment.