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Nuclear: Flamanville restart postponed for another five months

2020-04-27T16:32:41.885Z


EDF attributes this postponement to the "global reprogramming in all maintenance operations" of French nuclear power plants, in the context of the health crisis.


The restart of the two reactors at Flamanville (Manche) is once again postponed, for five months this time, we learned on Monday from the Electricity Transport Network (RTE) which manages the high voltage network. According to the website of this EDF subsidiary, the restart is now scheduled for October 31 and no longer May 31, as mentioned in early March.

Read also: EDF activates the pandemic plan in Flamanville

Reactor 2 has been under maintenance since January 2019. Reactor 1 has been shut down since September 2019 due to corrosion problems. Questioned by AFP, EDF attributed this new postponement to the " global reprogramming in all maintenance operations " of French nuclear power plants in the context of the health crisis.

Nearly 300 people work on the two reactors, where maintenance operations are gradually resuming after being completely suspended due to dozens of possible cases of coronavirus at the plant, according to EDF. The staff then fell to 100 agents who ensured the safety of the site, according to the company.

On March 16, EDF also announced a new level 1 incident concerning Flamanville and several other power stations concerning the lack of braking on valves. The restarting of the reactors has been postponed repeatedly.

Read also: EDF: the cost of the Flamanville EPR is soaring again

At the beginning of March, EDF had justified the previous postponement by " bringing it into compliance within the framework of rechecks " which are part of the " austerity plan " launched by the power station when it was placed under reinforced surveillance by the Nuclear Safety Authority. (ASN) in September, according to EDF.

In December, the Institute for Nuclear Safety (IRSN), the technical arm of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), considered that the situation at the Flamanville power plant was " very worrying " given the " major deviations in different equipment classified assafe ” and that the two reactors could not be restarted as they were.

The Institute nevertheless considered that " the enhanced surveillance by ASN and the EDF action plan are likely to improve the situation observed for several years on the site ".

The Flamanville power plant experienced seven level 1 incidents in 2019, five in 2018. Next to reactors 1 and 2 at Flamanville, EDF is building the EPR, which is also experiencing many delays and additional costs.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2020-04-27

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