The third unit at TVO's Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Finland is expected to start regular electricity production in 2018, according to an updated schedule from the AREVA-Siemens consortium supplying the plant.
AREVA said that under the revised schedule construction of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR will be completed in mid-2016, commissioning will start at this date and operations will start in 2018.
The project, which began construction in 2005, was initially expected to begin electricity production in spring 2009, but has been hit by numerous delays and cost overruns.
AREVA said that the principal driver of recent delays to the project has been the reactor instrumentation & control (I&C) system approval.
Approval of the I&C architecture was granted in April 2014, after a four-year period of exchanges with TVO, giving the consortium a "key visibility element" to schedule the completion of the project, AREVA said.
It noted, however, that the schedule is based on key assumptions and commitments concerning TVO's cooperation as the owner of the plant.
"From the beginning of the project, the role of the owner is essential to the progress on the project, for example to facilitate the review of technical and safety matters by STUK [the Finnish nuclear regulator], even more during the commissioning phase which is to come," AREVA said.
TVO said that it continues to be committed to provide support to the plant supplier and welcomes all viable initiatives to speed up the works in order to complete the project as soon and as efficiently as possible. TVO will now review the additional data it has received regarding the OL3schedule.
From a financial standpoint, AREVA said that the updated schedule has no impact on the Olkiluoto 3 contract's loss at completion for AREVA, which stood at 3.9 billion Euros as of 30 June 2014.
The AREVA & Siemens consortium continues to pursue its claims in the arbitration procedure concerning responsibility for the delays to the project with the objective to obtain compensation for the losses incurred.
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