The restart of unit 2 at the Czech Republic’s Dukovany NPP, which suffered an unscheduled shutdown on 24 June, has been postponed from mid-August to mid-September, the station’s press secretary Jiri Bezdek announced on 6 August. “The second power unit was stopped due to problems at one of the six steam generators,” he noted. “The necessary repair work is ongoing. Systems will be tested in early September. Then, the power unit will be launched and brought to full power.” The shutdown occurred one day after completion of scheduled maintenance and repair work, which lasted from 17 May to 23 June, during which a fifth of the fuel was replaced. Bezdek noted that shutdown of unit 1 at Dukovany is planned for August for scheduled repair and maintenance work and replacement of one fifth of the fuel. Construction of the four VVER-440 units at the Dukovany NPP began in 1974 and was completed in 1987. They are expected to be in operation at least until 2045.
