Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate permits restart of Forsmark 1 and 2

The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) has given permission for a restart of Forsmark 1 and 2 following the incident that occurred on 25 July and that led to the emergency shutdown of F1. The incident has been thoroughly analysed and changes have been made to prevent a recurrence. Forsmark’s total loss of revenue for the shutdown is estimated to amount to SEK 1.5 billion, of which SEK 1 billion is Vattenfall’s share.

“The incident was serious as it showed that a fault in the external network could affect the safety systems inside the power station, which should be entirely independent of such disruptions. All the measures required to fulfil SKI’s requirements to restart Forsmark 1 and 2 have been taken and SKI have now given us permission to restart the reactors,” says Lars Fagerberg, Managing Director of Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB. “With today’s decision we have also been notified that SKI is to intensify its inspections by means of special supervision. Given the seriousness of the incident and the deficiencies identified, these measures do not come as a surprise. Now we have to focus on the long-term requirements set for us by SKI. We will also present the documents that SKI demands of us in the context of its special supervision.” It was in connection with maintenance work on the switchgear outside Forsmark that a short circuit occurred and the connection with the 400 kV network was broken. This led to a number of other faults that set off a complicated chain of events inside the power station. When presenting the final report of the investigation on September 14, the Swedish Nuclear Inspectorate (SKI), assessed the incident as serious and stated furthermore: “The incident did not cause any damage to the reactor. The control room personnel acted according to instructions. Cooling of the reactor was present at all times and any risk of radioactive discharge was never present.” “With today’s decision, SKI requests that the owners of Forsmark disclose the directives the supervisory board has given to the Managing Director of Forsmark regarding plant safety. Vattenfall’s safety policy applies to Forsmark and is implemented in Forsmark’s own policy. The policy specifies that the responsibility for safety lies fully and undivided with Forsmark Kraft AB as the operating company and that utmost safety is always to be given highest priority,” says Göran Lundgren, Head of Vattenfall Generation Nordic. He is responsible for Vattenfall’s electricity generation operations in the Nordic region, which includes the nuclear power stations at Ringhals and Forsmark. For further information, please contact: Göran Lundgren, Head of Vattenfall Generation Nordic, +46-8-739 57 79. Lars Fagerberg, Managing Director, Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB, +46-173-822 01. Claes-Inge Andersson, Information Officer, Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB, +46 705 300 513