LONDON (Reuters) -Britain has moved the Hartlepool nuclear power station in northeast England operated by France’s EDF into enhanced regulatory attention for safety, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said on Monday.
Although the station remained safe to operate, the decision was made after areas for improvement were identified, the ONR said in a statement.
EDF is seeking to extend the life of the plant by a further year to March 2027.
The ONR said the higher scrutiny did not relate to EDF’s decision to extend the operating lifetime, which was subject to ongoing safety standards being demonstrated.
Mike Webb, ONR’s Superintending Inspector for Operating Reactors, said EDF had already submitted a performance improvement plan to address the areas requiring improvement.
“We have reviewed this plan and are confident it will address our outlined concerns,” he said.
The plant, which comprises two advanced gas-cooled reactors, began operating in 1983 and is capable of generating enough electricity to supply around 2 million homes.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Susanna Twidale, writing by Sachin Ravikumar, editing by Paul Sandle)
