The start of a new nuclear reactor in Finland, which was supposed to take place in December, will be delayed due to a malfunction. On Wednesday, October 19, Bloomberg reported. The station must cover the shortage of electricity that arose after the cessation of imports from Russia in May.

The delay is due to damage found in the pumps located in the engine room of the block of the Olkiluoto-3 NPP. Operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj said the malfunction would not affect nuclear safety and a new assessment of the start of regular power generation would be completed “in the coming days”.

The construction of a new reactor at the Olkiluoto NPP, located on the island of the same name in Western Finland, began back in 2005, but the commissioning dates were repeatedly postponed. The reactor has been undergoing tests since March 2022 and reached its full capacity for the first time in September.

The two operating reactors of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant produce about 16% of all electricity in Finland. With the launch of the third reactor, the station’s share should increase to 40%. Finnish authorities have already warned residents about intermittent power outages this winter amid the worst energy crisis Europe has experienced in decades.

In May, the Finnish company Fennovoima terminated a contract with Russia’s Rosatom for the construction of the Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant in northwestern Finland. The contract was signed back in 2013 and provided for the construction of a single-unit nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1200 MW. Its cost was estimated at 7–7.5 billion euros.