The reason was the suspicion of a leak in the generator area, a spokesman for the state-owned operator CEZ said on Wednesday. The suspected leak is therefore in the non-nuclear area of the facility. The repair, which is expected to take several days, would not be possible during ongoing operations, it said.
The Temelin nuclear power plant is located less than 60 kilometers from the borders with Bavaria and Austria. It has two Russian-designed pressurized water reactors. In 2023, the nuclear power plant generated a total of 16.1 terawatt hours of electricity. Due to numerous accidents in the past, the Temelin nuclear power plant has long been criticized by environmentalists.
Meanwhile, the government in Prague decided at its cabinet meeting on Wednesday to expand the previous tender for the construction of a new reactor at the Dukovany nuclear power plant site. The applicants should now submit a binding offer for the construction of up to four new blocks, which would be distributed across the two locations in Dukovany and Temelin. Prime Minister Petr Fiala emphasized that the collective order results in a construction price that is around 25 percent cheaper per block. The shortlist includes the French EDF Group and KHNP from South Korea – the US group Westinghouse has now been eliminated.
