SN Nuclearelectrica SA („SNN”) informs that starting with May 6th, 2016, 23:00 hours, Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 will enter the planned outage program.
The two operating reactors of Cernavoda NPP are shutdown alternatively, once every two years, in order to perform the following programs:
- Preventive and corrective maintenance;
- Mandatory inspections;
- Mandatory tests, as per the requirements of the National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities („CNCAN”), which can be performed only with the reactor off power;
- Implementation of design changes on certain systems/equipment/components.
The planned outages are considered as projects of the company, initiated with 24 months in advance of the scheduled date, having a dedicated project management team, schedule board, adequate planning of human and financial resources.
The 2016 planned outage of Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 will have an approximate duration of 50 days, compared to the regular outage period of approximately 30 days. The extension of the planned outage period of Unit 1 is due to additional maintenance works on the steam generator. This represents a standard procedure, implemented by CANDU 6 type reactors world wide, once in the entire initial operating life of 30 years of each nuclear unit, as per the analysis of technical data.
The analysis related to the extension of the planned outage demonstrated the economic and technical advantages represented by the improvement of the efficiency of the thermal circuit which leads to the increase of the production with approximately 1,5-2% compared to the forecasted level in the absence of the above mentioned works. The same analysis indicated that the most opportune period to perform these maintenance works on Unit 1 is during the planned outage of 2016.
The works will be carried out under safe conditions for the personnel of the power plant, the public and the environment, in compliance with the approved procedures applied by Cernavoda NPP.
