Spain's 500 MW Garona nuclear plant off line –CSN

Tuesday, Apr 07, 2009

Spain's 500 megawatt Garona nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the grid in an unscheduled halt for repairs to a safety valve, the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) said in a statement on Monday.

Plant officials added that prior to discovering the fault, Garona had reached 69 percent of normal power output after it completed refuelling over the weekend. The plant had been off line since March 1.

The regulator said people and the environment were not at risk.

In addition, operators said the 1,000 MW Trillo plant was reconnected to the grid on Friday night and CSN data showed it was working as normal on Sunday. Trillo had been off line since February 11.

According to national grid operator REE (REE.MC), by 0920 GMT, Spain's nuclear plants were generating 5,869 MW between them, or about 1,500 MW less than when all are working normally but 1,000 MW more than on Friday.

Greater availability of nuclear power helps lower wholesale prompt electricity prices, and Spanish day-ahead <SP/BASE> dipped to 35.86 euros ($48.53) per megawatt-hour on Monday morning from 37.33 the day before.

In addition to Garona, the 1,000 MW Vandellos II nuclear plant is off line for refuelling and maintenance.

Spain's two largest power firms, Iberdrola (IBE.MC) and Endesa (ELE.MC), jointly own Garona.

Trillo's owners are Iberdrola, Endesa, Spain's third-largest power utility Union Fenosa (UNF.MC) and Portugal's EDP (EDP.LS).