Sweden’s largest reactor, Oskarshamn 3, will be disconnected from the country’s electricity grid for nine days for maintenance on its generator.
OKG, the managing company, cited “an error we are aware of and that is not going in the right direction” and said it plans to carry out repairs between December 9 and 18, stressing intentions to prioritize “safety and equipment.”
Oskarshamn 3 is one of Sweden's six nuclear reactors in operation, and the one with the most electrical output (1450MW), accounting for about a third of the country’s nuclear power and 8 percent of its electricity supply.
The troubled reactor has been disconnected from the power grid several times this year alone. First it was unplugged in February after a fuel failure and the last shutdown occurred in November.
Local power experts have predicted a strained situation, as during the planned shutdown, reactor 4 at the Ringhals nuclear power plant will also be out of service. Apart from the lost electricity output, the transmission capacity from north to south will be severely reduced. Coupled with a cold spell predicted by meteorologists, this may push electricity prices across the country further up. With winter approaching and electricity use increasing, every megawatt that disappears from production has a greater price effect.
In addition, the new Olkilouto 3 reactor in Finland, which is the Nordic region's single largest electricity producer, was supposed to be ultimately put into commercial operation in late December after much delay, but has been postponed until January 22 next year after cracks were discovered in feed pumps in the turbine hall.
Local media concluded that Swedes now just have to hope for “good weather for electricity”, that is mild and windy, so that prices won’t spike to unbearable levels during the reactor shutdown.
In November, the Nordic region saw electricity prices drop somewhat owing to windy weather, well-filled water reservoirs in Sweden and Norway, and full gas storage facilities in Germany and other neighboring countries. However, recently the prices started to spike once again due to a drop in wind power generation and ice building on the region’s northernmost rivers. The shutdowns will undoubtedly aggravate the spike.
Bracing for record prices, Swedish grid operator Svenska kraftnat called on compatriots to resort to a solution tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely to “flatten the curve”, that is to spread out electricity consumption during the day. Earlier, Svenska kraftnat warned that in the event of a very cold winter, households could find themselves temporarily without electricity altogether.
Earlier this autumn, Swedish households in areas with the highest electricity prices were reported to have slashed their power use by up to a fourth. At the same time, soaring power costs have toppled the housing market, plunging it into the worst slump in decades.
Despite its role as an electricity exporter as well as is long-standing self-sufficiency, in 2022, Sweden was badly affected by Europe’s overall energy crisis stemming from misguided Western sanctions meant as “punishment” against Russia over its special operation in Ukraine. In reality, they made Europe’s cost-of-living crisis worse, pushing inflation to record levels across the continent and sparking fears of “energy poverty.”