November 8 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's sole nuclear power plant Nuklearna Elektrarna Krsko reconnected to the grid on November 7 following planned maintenance works which started on October 1, it said on Tuesday.
The works included technological upgrades that will increase power output as the new high-pressure turbine is expected to contribute 10 MW of power or 90 GWh of electricity production per year, the plant said in a statement.
A total of 56 of the 121 fuel elements were replaced and an extensive standard maintenance and checking programme for mechanical, electrical and instrumentation equipment was carried out and the results confirm that the condition of the systems, structures and components is faultless, it added.
The plant is jointly managed by its two owners - Slovenia's GEN Energija and Croatian power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP). The two neighbouring countries share the power plant's output.
Krsko was built in Slovenia near the border with Croatia in the 1970s and launched operations in 1982 when the two countries were still part of the former Yugoslavia.
The plant was originally designed to operate until 2023. In 2016, however, GEN Energija and HEP decided to extend its lifespan by 20 years until 2043, under the condition that the plant will undergo a security check every 10 years.