The shutdown of the second block in Temelin power plant took exactly one week. It was caused by a failure of one of the six ducts in the turbogenerator. Power engineers have not described this repair as very critical, yet the block had to be disconnected from the grid and the turbine was stopped.
"The shutdown, cooldown and restoration of the largest Czech turbo aggregate is not a short-time issue. We must ensure strict compliance with the technical conditions and procedures. We have finished all the works and inspections required just now and restored the production,“ specified the Director of Temelin NPP, Bohdan Zronek.
The turbogenerator underwent several tests before its reconnection to the grid. For example, the experts had to verify the tightness of the cooling system and therefore raised the pressure to 510 kPa, which is more than double the pressure in tires of a regular passenger vehicle. "The checks were extended to the first production block as well. Our obvious reason is to avoid potential occurrence of the same failure,“ adds the Electrical Equipment Care Manager in Temelin, Bohumil Lukasek.
Both blocks of the Temelin power plant should start producing a record amount of power from the beginning of school year. This year is actually the milestone with completion of the modernising scheme that included replacement of low-pressure turbine parts. Their output has increased by more than 20 MWe without any hike of fuel consumption. That helped Temelin strengthen its top position among large power production sites within the Czech Republic.
However, its director still does not feel much positive about summer shutdowns. "We stretched the planned shutdown of the second block and I am not very happy with the repair just finished either. Everything needs to be assessed in detail. Temelin will be encountering changes from the next year anyway,“says Bohdan Zronek.
The first block of nuclear power plant is undergoing the regular shutdown for fuel replacement that should finish during the last week of August. The total amount of power produced by the Temelin power plant since the beginning of this year equals 7949774 billion of kilowatt-hours.
The Temelin nuclear power plant started producing electric power in December 2000. It is currently the largest power production unit in the Czech Republic. It safe and emission-free production process caters for one fifth of power consumption in the Czech Republic. The total power produced here in the year 2014 amounted to 14.95 billion kWh. The power produced in Temelin would suffice the South Bohemia for almost 3.5 years, Czech households could run on it for a year.