The Krško (NEK) outage is entering its final phase; the power plant is planned to be connected to the grid at the beginning of the second week of November
Teams of NEK employees and contractual partners implement maintenance work, modernisations and check equipment and systems with great commitment; many works have already been completed, as we regularly reported on our website. Fuel elements are inserted in the reactor vessel for the next fuel cycle, which will last until the spring of 2024. The contractual partner will need more time than planned to replace the high-pressure turbine, which is a key operating component and determines the outage duration. Together with him, we at NEK are focusing on completing the works and establishing the conditions for the plant start-up, which is planned for the beginning of the second week of November.
The replacement of the high-pressure turbine, which is part of the secondary plant system, also includes the replacement of the internal parts of the governor valves for the supply of steam to the high-pressure turbine. In the complex project, they first removed the turbine, which had been performing its task since the start of plant operation. Then they inserted the components of the new turbine, assembled them and connected with other systems.
The multi-layer build-up welding and machining of the valve seats to the new dimensions was delayed due to the failure of two of the four special welding machines, which the contractor Siemens could not replace; the works therefore took more time than planned, directly affecting the length of the outage. The power plant will therefore be back in operation a few days later.
At NEK, we are doing everything we can to ensure that the contractor finishes the project with good quality and as soon as possible, so that we can re-establish the conditions for ensuring a continuous, stable energy supply to Slovenia and Croatia.