EDF, Babcock get Sizewell B back on stream

London – Babcock is highlighting its role in helping EDF Energy to bring Sizewell B power station back online last month. The station, which can generate enough electricity to serve two million homes was halted in March following the failure of some heaters in the pressuriser.

“Bringing Sizewell B back online was a team effort between our own staff, those from the wider EDF group and our contracting partners such as Babcock,” said Jim Crawford, Sizewell B Station director, said in a Babcock press statement.

During the project, Babcock worked as a Tier 2 supplier to AREVA, which is a Tier 1 supplier to EDF. The Babcock team assisted in the defuelling and refuelling of the reactor alongside the AREVA US team.

Babcock also operated the means of entry for tools and equipment into the containment area - the Equipment Access Hatch - while its control and instrument technicians supported radwaste operations around the clock.

The Babcock team working in cramped conditions to fit 78 strain gauges onto the heater elements, according to Yvan Lohr, AREVA site manager.

“They specified the method of fitting, devised equipment to assist in swift installation, and spent many hours practising the operation on the full scale mock-up in order to achieve success with the minimum dose uptake,” said Lohr.

While the outage and repair work was being carried out, the opportunity was taken to bring forward work scheduled for later outages, such as the replacement of worn parts of the polar crane, which was carried out by a Babcock crane team.

Using the time taken to repair the pressuriser efficiently can help towards reducing the length of future outages, minimising the loss of generation, said Babcock. The company, it added, will continue to support AREVA and EDF in future refuelling outages, identifying process efficiencies and improvements wherever possible.

The work carried out on repairs has been regularly monitored by the industry regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), part of the Health and Safety Executive.

After a significant programme of inspections and assessments, the HSE Nuclear Directorate gave its consent for the power station to restart and re-sychronised to the grid.

Sizewell B is EDF subsidiary British Energy’s only pressurised water reactor plant. It has a net electrical output of 1196 MW and has been operational since 1995. The plant is located near Leiston, Suffolk, on the East Anglian coast.