Fortum's Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant brings annual refuelling and maintenance outages to a successful conclusion

PRESS RELEASE 24 September 2013

Both Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant units in Loviisa, Finland, are back in production after the annual maintenance outage. Unit 1 was out of production for almost 19 days, until 6 September, and maintenance work on Unit 2 was finished in 16 days, on 23 September.
Both units underwent a so-called refuelling outage, with no major alterations or repairs carried out. About one fourth of the fuel was replaced on both units.

"In addition to normal periodical maintenance and refuelling at Loviisa 1, an engine of the emergency diesel generator was replaced with a renovated one, the 6-kV main switch at the switch plant was renovated as were the 400-kV switches at the switch field. All work was completed within the planned maintenance schedule," says Pertti Salonen, Manager of Loviisa Power Plant's Maintenance Unit.

At Loviisa 2, the most significant maintenance target, in addition to the normal periodic servicing and refuelling, was the 400-kV switches at the switch field. The renovation of the 400-kV switches on both units was carried out by Fingrid Oyj.

The maintenance was carried out according to plan, and no major incidents endangering personnel or plant safety occurred. Small technical problems during the start-up of Loviisa 1 delayed grid connection by two days. During the final testing of Loviisa 2, two control rods malfunctioned. Due to the malfunction, the control rods were tested several times and ultimately found to be functioning normally.

"The annual outages on both units went very smoothly. Despite extra checks and reports, the annual outages were successful also in terms of keeping on schedule," says Timo Eurasto, Manager of Loviisa Power Plant's Operation Unit. "Both units are in good shape now, and we expect an undisrupted refuelling interval as in previous years," Eurasto continues.

In addition to the 500 Loviisa employees, about 650 experts in the fields of maintenance and inspection from a total of 50 companies took part in the annual outages. 97 per cent of the contractor workforce was Finnish. The companies had direct contracts with Fortum.

Fortum Corporation
Corporate Communications

 

For further information, please contact:
Pertti Salonen, Manager, Maintenance Unit, tel. +358 10 455 3100
Timo Eurasto, Manager, Operation Unit, tel. +358 10 455 4010

Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant

In 2012, Fortum's Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant produced 7.61 terawatt hours of electricity, corresponding to about 10 per cent of the total annual power production in Finland. The Loviisa power plant has one of the best safety and availability records among the world's nuclear power plants. The load factor describing annual production is high by international comparison, e.g. 87.6 per cent last year.

Further information: www.fortum.com/loviisa-npp

 

Fortum

Fortum's purpose is to create energy that improves life for present and future generations. We provide sustainable solutions that fulfil the needs for low emissions, resource efficiency and energy security, and deliver excellent value to our shareholders. Our activities cover the generation, distribution and sales of electricity and heat as well as related expert services.

Fortum's operations focus on the Nordic countries, Russia, Poland and the Baltics. In the future, the integrating European and fast-growing Asian energy markets provide additional growth opportunities. In 2012, Fortum’s sales totalled EUR 6.2 billion and comparable operating profit was EUR 1.7 billion. We employ approximately 10,400 people. Fortum’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

Further information: www.fortum.com