Krsko N-Plant Reconnected to the Grid

Ljubljana/Krsko, 9 June

The Krsko Nuclear Power Plant (NEK), which was brought to a shutdown last Wednesday due to a leak in the primary cooling system, was brought back online and reconnected to the power grid just before 4 PM on Monday, two days earlier than planned, the power plant operator said.

The power plant was re-launched after technicians replaced a faulty valve that had caused the leak. "Such maintenance has been carried out before so the work was completed faster than we expected," NEK said in a statement.
The Nuclear Safety Administration carried out an analysis of the repairs and decided that the power plant was fit for re-launch.
The 696-megawatt reactor at power station was gradually brought to a shutdown Wednesday evening after the leak was discovered.
Slovenia notified the neighbouring countries as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Commission.
The European Commission was notified through the ECURIE system, the first-time the two-decade-old system was used.
The European Commission issued three press releases in a matter of two hours on Wednesday, saying later it had decided for this step "for transparency's sake".
However, this sent alarm bells ringing across Europe, and media seized upon the story even though the "abnormal" event was rated zero on the IAEA zero-to-eight scale for nuclear emergencies.
The Krsko plant, which uses a reactor built by US company Westinghouse, was constructed in the 1970s and is scheduled to run until 2023. It is half-owned by Croatia.
It produces nearly 40% of all electricity in Slovenia, although half of that is sent to Croatia.

Krsko N-Plant Reconnected to the Grid

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