A Czech nuclear plant shut down a reactor during the weekend after one of its the turbines developed a fault, the plant's owners said Monday.
"During the final turbine generator tests prior to the synchronisation to the power distribution grid, a failure has been found on the flow through part (rotor) in the third low pressure turbine" on Sunday, the energy company CEZ said in a statement Monday.
"The subsequent inspection will find out the fault reason and then the repair's method and length will be established."
The plant closed for 75 days at the end of July for routine maintenance work, but that stoppage had to be extended by two weeks at the start of October so repairs to the cooling system could be carried out.
The troubled Soviet-designed power plant, around 60 kilometres (36 miles) from the Austrian border, was initially conceived for four reactors but later scaled back to the current two following the fall of the communist regime in 1989.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's right-wing Civic Democratic Party backs more nuclear power as it is seen as an important future component of the Czech Republic energy mix. At present, the country still relies heavily on oil and gas imports.
CEZ is around two-thirds owned by the Czech state and is the second biggest electricity exporter in Europe after French giant Electricite de France.
