LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), October 1 (SeeNews) – Slovenia's sole nuclear power plant Nuklearna Elektrarna Krsko (NEK) will close down between October 1 and October 29 for a planned overhaul, the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) said.
The overhaul comes after 18 month of continuous operations, SNSA said in a statement on Monday.
The overhaul will include replacing part of NEK's fuel, performing extensive maintenance works and several technological upgrades, aimed at improving the plant's nuclear and radiation safety, the statement said.
The power plant holds regular maintenance works every 18 months.
NEK generates some 40% of Slovenia's electricity output. It operates a Westinghouse pressurised light water reactor of 2000 MW thermal power capacity, which generates over five billion kWh of electricity per year.
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.