Sweden’s largest nuclear reactor will be shut down for eight days due to a damaged fuel rod, Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reports today. Reactor 3 at the Oskarshamn nuclear power station (southeast) will be disconnected from the national grid on 3 March.

Another of Sweden’s six nuclear reactors is currently out of service due to maintenance work.

“It’s unfortunate, but the fuel rod wear issue needs to be addressed. It can’t wait,” Desiree Lilieval, communications manager for the management company OKG, told DN.

Last December, when the same nuclear reactor was shut down for nine days due to a technical problem, energy costs for consumers had increased, the Swedish newspaper recalls.

“If it’s cold, we’ll have to rely on imports,” said Erik Eck of the national electricity transmission operator Svenska Kraftnat, referring to the impact the planned outage could have.

Almost 30% of the electricity produced in Sweden comes from nuclear reactors. Between 2017 and 2020, four were decommissioned and today six reactors in three nuclear plants remain in operation.