OL3 nuke plant halted due to malfunction

Electricity production at the Finnish nuclear unit Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) has been interrupted due to a fault in the turbine plant, operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said on Monday, reported Xinhua.

Production at OL3 was stopped at around 7:00 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Sunday, TVO said.

The OL3 began normal electricity generation in April this year. It was the first new nuclear power unit to be commissioned in Finland in over 40 years.

TVO said on Monday that the OL3 unit was in normal production when a fault in the turbine plant automatically stopped electricity production. The cause of the interruption has been identified as a faulty temperature measurement of the generator's cooling system.

"After the repairs, inspections and tests are still carried out at the facility. According to the current estimate, the plant unit will return to production at noon on Nov. 21," said TVO.

The operator said that the incident had no impact on nuclear safety.