TVO said the revised schedule for the 1,600-MW unit was based on “information provided by the [Areva-Siemens] consortium” which is building the Generation III plant in western Finland.
In April TVO said work during the first quarter of the year at Olkiluoto-3 has not been progressing according to a schedule provided by Areva-Siemens in November 2018.
Nuclear fuel was to be loaded into the reactor this month, but that will not now happen before the end of August, TVO said.
First connection to the grid is planned for October 2019 and the start of regular electricity production is scheduled for January 2020.
Construction of Olkiluoto-3 began in August 2005 and is about nine years behind schedule. In March the Finnish government granted an operating licence for the unit.
In February TVO said construction work at Olkiluoto-3 was mostly complete, with electrical, automation and mechanical installation still partly in progress.
In 2018 TVO signed an agreement with Areva-Siemens over costs and losses caused by delays to the project. The settlement included compensation of €450m to be paid in two instalments.
Once it enters commercial operation early next year, Olkluoto-3 will supply some 15% of the country’s electricity demand.
In December 2018 Unit 1 of the Taishan nuclear plant in China’s Guangdong province became the first EPR to enter commercial operation. Taishan-2 is scheduled to begin commercial operation this year. The loading of fuel at the Flamanville-3 EPR in France is expected towards the end of this year. Two EPR units are also under construction at the Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, England.
