Electricity prices in Sweden soar following nuke reactor stoppage

Stockholm, Aug 30: Due to a stoppage in Sweden's largest nuclear power reactor, the price of electricity in the most densely populated part of the country will be 60 per cent higher on Wednesday than it was the previous day.

The average price on the Nord Pool electricity exchange increased from 0.76 Swedish kronor ($0.069) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 1.22 kronor per kWh, Xinhua news agency quoted the Swedish television (SVT) as saying in a report.

The price hike is due to the reactor at the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant being disconnected from the grid in the early hours of Tuesday following the discovery of a faulty component in the turbine, SVT reported.

The problem occurred as the reactor, which with a peak output of 1,450 megawatts is the largest in Sweden, was about to be re-started following a stoppage over the weekend, SVT reported.

Following the decommissioning of four reactors between 2017 and 2020, six reactors remain at three sites and account for around 30 per cent of the country's electricity production, according to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority.

Since last summer, some of the remaining reactors have at times been offline for extended periods due to maintenance and technical problems, which has at times led to electricity price peaks.