Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 Officially Connected to the Grid

According to the operator Slovenské elektrárne, Unit 4 of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia officially began generating electricity at 15:33 on Monday. This marks the last major stage before the unit enters commercial operation.

The unit reached criticality and minimum controlled power in early August. Before approving entry into the latest stage of trial operation, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic conducted a comprehensive inspection and assessed the relevant documents.

The transition from "physical startup" to "energy startup" means that the heat generated by the reactor will be used to heat water and produce steam, thereby driving the turbine to generate electricity.

Next, the reactor's output power will be gradually increased in stages——5%, 20%, 35%, 55%, 75% and 90%——with inspections and tests at each power level before further increases. When power reaches 20%, the unit will be officially connected to the Slovak power system.

The final test will be continuous operation at 100% full power for 144 hours.

Branislav Strýček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Slovenské elektrárne, said: "With the successful completion of this stage, Slovakia will gain a new stable source of electricity. In the coming decades, it will make an important contribution to the country's energy security and the achievement of climate goals."

Martin Mráz, Director of the Mochovce Completion Project, said: "We have successfully completed the fuel loading and physical startup stages... The achievement of this milestone is a recognition of the high level of professionalism of the Slovenské elektrárne project team and the quality of work of all those involved in the completion."