Substation malfunction shuts down Paks nuclear power plant block

A technical malfunction at a 400kV substation caused an automatic shutdown of one of the Paks nuclear power plant’s four blocks early on Monday. 

The automatic safety system shut down the number three block at 8.44am, the operator said.

MVM Paksi Atomerőmű communications director Antal Kovács noted that the malfunction was not at the plant itself but at a substation off site.

The cause of the malfunction is being investigated, he said. The block is expected to be restarted in the first half of next week, he added.

As we wrote last Monday, the fourth block of Hungary’s single nuclear power plant in Paks is sinking, the group leader of the opposition Socialist Party said, adding that this was “a serious cause for concern”.

Photo: atomeromu.hu