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Sizewell B nuclear power station has come back online following an extended maintenance outage which started earlier this year.
Planned refuelling and maintenance work on the EDF-owned site started on 16 April and was subsequently extended by three months after steel components were found to be wearing out more quickly than expected.
In a statement the French energy firm said the work saw a third of the fuel replenished and thousands of maintenance tasks completed at the 1.2GW plant.
Work completed included the replacement of 15 thermal sleeves under the reactor pressure vessel head, maintenance of the steam turbines and generators, and routine servicing of valves, pumps, and motors, together with a full suite of testing for another operating cycle.
The next planed outtage for the plant will be March 2023.
Robert Gunn, station director at Sizewell B, said: “It is the completion of maintenance work and refuelling that ensures we can keep the lights on for another eighteen months.
“I am particularly grateful to the Sizewell B team, including our excellent contract partners, for their commitment to a first class job and the local community for their support during this time.”
Last year EDF, under an agreement with National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO), switched off one of the plant’s two reactors over the summer.
This was to halve output from the site for a period of four months to help the ESO cope with a drop in demand resulting from the pandemic.
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