Sizewell B to be back online in 'next 24 hours' after unexpected shutdown

It's understood the reactor automatically stopped working around 5:30pm on Monday due to "an instrumentation fault"

Author: Tom ClabonPublished 19th Apr 2022
Last updated 20th Apr 2022

Sizewell B is set to be back online in the next 24 hours after the reactor and turbines unexpectedly shutdown at around 5:30pm on Monday.

EDF Energy, the company which runs the nuclear plant in Suffolk, says the shutdown was caused by "an instrumentation fault".

The 'automatic shutdown' meant steam was released into the atmosphere on Monday night and throughout Tuesday.

EDF say none of this represented any threat to public safety or the environment.

A letter to nearby residents told them the plant reacted as expected when offline and that nobody's safety was put at risk, at any time.

A spokesperson from EDF told us:

“Sizewell B is the most productive station in the UK’s nuclear fleet – in the past decade there have only been four days electricity generation lost due to unplanned shut downs.”

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