Glitch in water pump may delay production at OL3 nuke plant

Damage has been detected in the internals of the feedwater pumps located in Olkiluoto 3 (OL3)´s nuclear reactor during maintenance and inspection work, said the owner of the plant Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) in a press release on Tuesday.

The glitch will most likely have an effect on the continuation of Olkiluoto 3’s nuclear commissioning and the start of regular electricity production.

A schedule estimate is to be completed during the upcoming days.

According to plant supplier consortium company Siemens, the schedule impact of the feedwater pumps’ damage is not yet known. TVO is actively taking part in advancing the investigation together with the plant supplier.

In the feedwater pumps located in the nuclear power plant’s turbine island, water from the feedwater tank is pumped into the steam generators. The damage detected at the pumps has no impact on nuclear safety.

The plant supplier is obligated to complete the plant unit in accordance with the Plant Contract and settlement agreements.

The regular electricity production of OL3 EPR has previously been announced to start in December 2022 in accordance with information received from the plant supplier.

Earlier, the regular electricity production of the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) was delayed.

OL3 EPR’s regular electricity production, which was earlier scheduled to be started in September, later differed to December due to foreign material issues.