Slovenské elektrárne launches extended outage of Unit 2 at Mochovce

Slovenské elektrárne will disconnect the last turbogenerator from the grid at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 12, officially launching the extended outage of Unit 2 at the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant. This will be the last scheduled outage of a Slovak nuclear unit this year.

Over the coming weeks, nuclear professionals will carry out an extensive program of work covering inspections, repairs, and upgrades, aimed at ensuring the long-term safe and reliable operation of the nuclear power plant.

One of the most critical items of this outage is a detailed inspection of the reactor pressure vessel. This work requires the complete unloading of nuclear fuel from the reactor in order to carry out in-depth examination of this core equipment of the nuclear power plant.

During the shutdown, some shared facilities of Mochovce Units 1 and 2 will also be temporarily taken out of service. This so-called "dual-unit outage mode" will allow personnel to perform maintenance on certain process systems that cannot be taken out of service during normal operation.

In addition to inspecting the reactor itself, the plant will also carry out major overhauls of necessary equipment, complete pressure tests of process systems, and advance a number of investment projects aimed at improving safety, reliability, and modernization.

Pavol Ďurčat, the outage manager for the unit, stated that scheduled outages are part of the standard daily operation of a nuclear power plant and are mainly used to complete large-scale inspections and modifications that cannot be carried out during production, and that the company's core objective is to ensure that all work processes are safe and meet the highest quality standards.