Another S Korea nuclear reactor shut down due to malfunction
Seoul (Platts)--17Jan2013/600 am EST/1100 GMT
Another South Korean nuclear reactor was shut down Thursday due to a
malfunction just two weeks after two of three troubled reactors were
restarted amid mounting electricity demand due to a prolonged cold
spell.
No. 1 reactor at the Uljin nuclear power plant on the east coast, a
pressurized water reactor with a generation capacity of 0.95 GW, halted
operations at 11:19 a.m. Seoul time (0219 GMT) due to a problem with the
reactor's energy system.
The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the state-run operator of nuclear power
plants, said there was no immediate danger of any radiation leak. An
investigation was currently under way to identify the exact cause of the
problem, it said.
This is the second time in less than six months that Uljin-1 has been
shut down due to malfunction. It has been operating since September
1988. The Uljin power plant houses five other reactors, which have been
operating for between 12 and 30 years.
On November 5, two 1 GW nuclear reactors at the Yeonggwang plant on
the southwest coast were closed for at least two months of unscheduled
maintenance because they used parts supplied with forged quality
certificates.
As electricity demand rose to all-time highs, the country restarted the
two reactors late last month despite lingering concerns about nuclear
safety. Yonggwang-3 has remained closed since October 18, when minor
cracks were found.
The country's nuclear reactors experienced temporary unplanned shutdowns
more than 15 times last year due to malfunctioning equipment.
The state-run nuclear regulator, the Nuclear Safety and Security
Commission, has started conducting stress tests on all reactors to
determine whether power stations in the future can withstand natural
disasters.
South Korea currently operates 23 nuclear reactors, including two that
are shut down, which supply about 30% of the country's total electricity
consumption. Coal and LNG meet 40% and 20% of power demand,
respectively.
--Charles Lee, newsdesk@platts.com
--Edited by Jonathan Fox,
jonathan_fox@platts.com
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