Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant to Undergo 2-Month Outage

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant will be disconnected from the national grid for a two-month period, beginning Sunday night, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced.

According to the AEOI public relations, the power plant will be cut off the national grid from 11 p.m. local time (19:30 GMT) on March 1, under a previous plan.

The decision to disconnect the power plant was made to save the fuel and make the plant keep running in the summertime, when the country’s electricity consumption reaches a peak.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant has now enough fuel for only 190 days of effective performance, meaning that if generation continues, the plant will have to be disconnected from the national grid for the refueling operation in early June, when the highest level of electricity is expected in the plant.

In September 2013, Iran took temporary control of its Bushehr nuclear power plant for a two-year trial period, after which the country will be in overall charge of the power plant.

Head of the AEOI, Ali Akbar Salehi, had announced earlier that during the two-year trial period the power plant will be under Russian guarantee and a number of Russian experts will remain in place to give advice and technical assistance.

Russia has agreed to provide the power plant’s fuel for 10 years, with the supply deal committing Tehran to returning the spent fuel.

The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant became officially operational and was connected to Iran’s national grid in September 2011.

Iran and Russia have assured the international community that the plant is fully compliant with high-level safety standards and the IAEA safeguards.