The owner and operator of the Olkiluoto-3 nuclear power plant in southwest Finland has confirmed the handover of the EPR unit from the supplier and said full commercial operation will begin on 1 May.

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) said it had submitted a “provisional takeover certificate” to the plant supplier, the Areva-Siemens consortium, on Thursday (20 April).

“The acceptance of the plant unit ordered under a turnkey contract has today been confirmed,” TVO said. “The final acceptance of the plant unit will take place upon termination of the two-year warranty period. Even after that, the plant supplier’s liabilities under the warranty will remain in force to a certain extent for eight years at most.”

Olkiluoto-3, construction of which began in 2005 and has seen a number of delays and cost overruns, began regular electricity production on 16 April.