Embalse nuclear power plant moves to 24-month outage cycle

The 656-MW pressurised heavy water reactor, in Córdoba province, came off line last Friday after the evening peak demand period and is scheduled to return to the grid in late November.

The extension represents an increase of more than 33% in the interval between planned outages. Nucleoeléctrica said the change follows a continuous improvement process drawing on experience at plants using similar technology.

Longer intervals between outages allow Embalse to spend more time generating electricity. According to the company, the change also reduces how often equipment must be intervened, the periods during which systems are taken out of service for maintenance, radiological exposure of personnel, waste generation and occupational risks.

The announcement follows the latest performance results published by the World Association of Nuclear Operators. Embalse scored 98.16 out of 100 on Wano's PI-Index, while Atucha II reached the maximum score for the first time.

"Extending the interval between outages is another step in our continuous improvement process," Nucleoeléctrica president Juan Martín Campos said. "It allows us to generate energy for longer, optimise maintenance and continue consolidating the safety and performance levels of our plants."

An outage to keep generating

Over the coming weeks the plant will carry out a programme organised into 25 work chapters, comprising numerous inspection tasks, preventive and corrective maintenance, testing and improvements across different plant systems.

Among the main interventions are inspections of the steam generators, maintenance of the primary system pumps and the refurbishment of major components such as the turbine, the alternator and the condenser.

These tasks, which require the plant to be off line, are essential to ensure its safe and reliable operation throughout the next generating cycle.

Nucleoeléctrica operates Argentina's three nuclear power plants: Embalse, Atucha I and Atucha II, with a combined installed capacity of 1,763 MW. Atucha I has been off line since September 2024 undergoing a life extension project.