Krško Nuclear Power Plant back online after outage
The Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) was reconnected to the grid on Tuesday evening, 8 November. After low-power physics tests, its power will gradually be increased.
During the regular outage, 56 fuel elements out of 121 were replaced with new ones; the new core will provide a source of energy for the next year and a half. We have implemented an extensive standard program of maintenance and verification of mechanical, electrical and I&C equipment, as well as hundreds of surveillance tests. The results confirm that the condition of equipment, structures and materials is impeccable.
14 technological upgrades have also been completed; they will ensure reliable long-term plant operation and also an increase in power. The new high-pressure turbine is expected to contribute 10 megawatts of power or 90 gigawatt hours more electrical energy production annually. With this replacement, NEK will achieve the maximum possible power that can be achieved by nuclear power plants with two steam generators. As we reported, there was a delay in this complex upgrade; Siemens, our external Contractor, needed more time than planned to carry out the project – to prepare the turbine and its subsystems for operation.
The 33rd fuel cycle will last until the spring of 2024. Even in the previous cycle, which ended with the start of outage on 1 October, NEK proved its exceptional reliability when it operated continuously for 513 days and ensured a stable supply to Slovenia and Croatia.