Šoštanj, 15 November (STA) - The main unit of the Šoštanj coal-powered thermal power plant (TEŠ) was shut down on Monday due to a malfunction in the slag transport of the unit's boiler. Backup units have been activated and the plant that generates about a third of the country's electricity is expected to be fully operational again by the end of this week.
The outage of TEŠ's unit 6, announced on Wednesday, comes as the Slovenian power grid has also been having to cope since 5 October without the Krško nuclear power plant, which usually contributes around 40% of the electricity. The country's sole nuclear power plant is expected to be reconnected by the end of this week as well, after it had to fix a primary system pipe leakage issue.
National grid operator ELES told the paper Slovenske novice that the shortfall will be compensated by imports. "There is no fear of a shortage of electricity," it said.
The state-owned power group HSE, which is in charge of TEŠ, meanwhile said the slag transport issue that required TEŠ 6 to be stopped is similar to a malfunction that last occurred in 2020.
The unit is scheduled to be restarted by the end of this week. "Electricity and heat supply will not be disrupted during this time, as we will provide them, as always, with the gas units and unit 5," HSE added.
Temporary shutdowns of TEŠ 6, which was completed in 2015 at a reported cost of EUR 1.4 billion, occur sporadically, last in March and April last year due to leakage detected in the boiler evaporator and for regular overhaul. In April last year, the unit was shut down for routine maintenance work, and in October and November last year to save coal for the winter months.
