Energy shortage fear as Hartlepool reactor shuts
NUCLEAR power company British Energy is facing more output problems after complications during a planned inspection at its Hartlepool site.
The issue found in a boiler closure unit at one of the two reactors at Hartlepool led the company to take the precaution of shutting down the other reactor and another of its units at Heysham, south of Morecambe.
It is the latest blow for British Energy after recent boiler problems at Hinkley Point B in Somerset and Hunterston B in Ayrshire led to shares falling 9%.
The problem found during a statutory outage at Hartlepool’s first reactor relates to a wire winding. The discovery will delay the restart of the unit, originally scheduled for early November.
The company said: ‘‘As this issue may have implications for sister units at Hartlepool and Heysham 1, British Energy has taken a conservative decision to take two of these units out of service for assessment and inspection.’’
The second reactor at Heysham 1 is currently on a refueling outage but its return to service will be delayed.
British Energy said it was currently assessing when the units might return to service.
But problems at Britain’s nuclear power stations could mean the lights go out in winter if it is cold, an energy expert has warned.
Professor Ian Fells of Newcastle University said there could be power shortages with seven UK nuclear power plants out of action.
The Nuclear Industry Association confirmed the latest problems at Hartlepool and Heysham brought the total number of inactive stations to seven out of the UK’s 16 reactors.
