Good production year 2008 at Fortum's Loviisa power plant

Good production year 2008 at Fortum's Loviisa Power Plant

In 2008, Fortum's Loviisa power plant produced 7.7 terawatt hours of
electricity. The capacity factor describing the power plant's production was
almost 90 per cent. 

In the autumn, Unit 2 underwent a short 22.5-day annual outage which enabled
once more a production of 4 terawatt hours. The result of Unit 1 was just 3.7
terawatt hours due to the extensive inspection outage, which is performed every
four years. The outage took approximately 50 days. 

Production period 2008 was almost uninterrupted with the exception of the
troubleshooting and repairing required during the start-up after the outage of
Unit 1 due to a failure in the protection sleeve of a control rod. Towards the
end of the year, the personnel detected an erroneous signal in the Unit 2
reactor protection system. The Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety
classified the event as INES Level 1 on the 7-level International Nuclear Event
Scale. Level 1 is the lowest on the Scale. 

Progress in power plant automation modernisation
The use of digital automation in the control and monitoring of the Loviisa
power plant process began when the first phase of the automation modernisation
was taken into use in Unit 1 during the year. Before the systems were
installed, the Unit's new automation buildings were taken into operation.
Preparations for future automation installations are ongoing. The project will
continue until 2014. 

Improved radiation and work safety
Long-term work at the power plant to reduce the radiation doses of the
personnel and the number of accidents has yielded results. Occupational
accidents were reduced but the zero target has not yet been reached. The
radiation doses of the personnel were decreased by 16 per cent despite the
annual maintenance that took more than two months. 

Thirty new people recruited
The Loviisa power plant's staff is experiencing a change of generation. In
2008, thirty 
new people were recruited to the plant. Power production thus took place with a
staff of 490 Fortum workers and 100 workers from other companies. During the
annual outages, the number of outside workers rose to 1,000. 

Preparations for Loviisa 3 project continue
Preparations for the Loviisa 3 project continued during 2008. An environmental
impact assessment (EIA) was completed in the autumn of 2008. In its statement,
the Ministry of Employment and the Economy noted that the EIA report meets the
content requirements prescribed by legislation, it has been processed according
to regulations and is sufficient at the current planning stage of the project. 

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The amount of electricity produced in 2008 by the Loviisa power plant equals
the annual consumption of approximately 385,000 detached houses with electric
heating. 
According to an international comparison between power plants, the capacity
factors of the Loviisa power plant are top level in the world. The capacity
factor describes the plants' production during a certain period of time
compared to nominal capacity. 
Fortum is one of the cleanest producers of electricity in Europe. Approximately
90% of the company's Nordic electricity production is carbon-neutral and
approximately 40% of the electricity is produced using renewable sources of
energy. 

Fortum Power and Heat 
Loviisa Power Plant
Communications

For further information, please contact:
Markku Tiitinen, Operating Unit Manager, +358 10 45 54010, +358 50 45 54010
Peter Gango, General Manager, +358 50 45 54000
Peter Tuominen, Development and Communications Manager, +358 50 45 24760