Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant’s Maintenance Extension Causes Electricity Prices to Spike

Industry Voima’s (TVO) Olkiluoton nuclear power plant’s triple reactor maintenance has been extended by two days due to technical problems. The original estimate for the completion of the maintenance was May 8, but this has now been pushed back to May 10. This extension was communicated to operators of the electricity exchange Nordpool on Tuesday.

The simultaneous annual maintenance of Olkiluoto 3 and Olkiluoto 2 has caused two of TVO’s nuclear reactors to be out of the electricity market at the same time. This has had an impact on the price of electricity, causing a spike in prices on the exchange. The annual maintenance of Olkiluoto 3 began in early March and was originally scheduled to end on April 8. Delays in the past have been caused by various technical issues with inspection equipment and new defects found during maintenance.

Olkiluoto 3’s maintenance is being carried out for the first time. The unit has a full production capacity of 1,600 megawatts, which accounts for more than ten percent of Finland’s electricity production. The extension of the maintenance period is a significant development for the plant and will have implications for the electricity market during this time.