EDF Energy have announced the temporary shut down of four nuclear reactors, two in Hartlepool and two in Lancashire.
The "conservative decision" taken by EDF Energy will see a reduction in the energy supply, however the National Grid have cited high production of wind energy and low demand during the summer to ease fears of a noticeable shortage.
The fault was found in Heysham 1, in Lancashire. This fault, sources agree, was in the boiler and was found in June. This discovery has led to EDF Energy shutting down the second reactor at Heysham and two Hartlepool reactors, as they are of similar design.
Centrica, UK owner of approximately 20% of EDF shares, have estimated the outages will result in a company loss of 0.3p per share in the 2014 earnings.
The closures are expected to carry on for around 8 weeks.
Cedrec's take
Nuclear power is always an uneasy subject. On one hand, the power produced is massively cleaner than oil generated power, but the possibilities of major accidents and incidents remain high, despite nuclear power being around for so long.
France is the largest nuclear power producer in the world, and EDF Energy are French state-owned, so the knowledge is there. If EDF feel it is necessary to shut an affected reactor and similar designs to be safe, then they have our full support. The natural world is, to this day, recovering from the disaster in Chernobyl, and Fukushima is yet another reminder of how dangerous nuclear power can be.
A final point to make is the fact these sites are scheduled to be closed in 2019. Of the eight plants EDF operate here in the UK, only one will remain at the end of the plant purge, due to conclude in 2023. It seems engineers need to get their thinking caps on, with a deadline approaching, capping how much longer UK energy can rely on nuclear sources.
For more information on EDF Energy and their nuclear power plants, visit www.edfenergy.com
