Businesses in North Lancashire are set to benefit from a major maintenance outage at Heysham 2 power station.
Operators at the EDF site have taken one of the station’s two reactors offline on to carry out a major maintenance programme worth more than £25 million. This planned 74-day outage is like an MOT for the unit, allowing work to be carried out that cannot take place while the reactor is at power.
It is a statutory requirement to carry out a maintenance outage every 3 years to allow continued generation of zero carbon electricity from the reactor.
More than 800 extra workers will join the 750 strong workforce for the maintenance period, which is known as a “statutory outage”.
EDF carries out a statutory outage on each of its reactors every three years. These are planned in advance with the National Grid to ensure that there is no impact on the national electricity supply. The other reactor at Heysham 2 and the two units at Heysham 1 are due to continue operating normally throughout the period.
During the outage workers will carry out more than 13,000 separate pieces of work – each carefully planned during the last two years of preparation. The biggest projects include gas circulator exchanges, turbine low pressure stage rotor replacement, and graphite inspections.
Station Director, John Sandford, said: “Heysham 2 marks its 35th year of generation this year and this will be the station’s 24th statutory outage, so we are very well practised at them. When EDF took over the operation of Heysham 2 it was due to stop generating in March 2023 so it is clear the continued investment in these outages, along with the hard work of the team here, have been vital in supporting continued generation at the site.
“Over the years, we have also built great relationships with the extra workers who come and support us during the outages. These workers will be staying in local hotels and B&Bs, eating in the area’s restaurants and using taxi firms. It is great that our investment in the power station can also benefit our local community."
Praise for Lancaster and Morecambe youngsters who took part in 'tongue movement' project
Clinic where students offer free legal advice to reopen at Lancaster University
Lines reopen after train derailment on Scotland-London line
Police arrest two and seize illegal bike in Morecambe
ITV commissions sixth series of Morecambe crime drama The Bay
E-bike shop moves from Lancaster to new Carnforth showroom
Lancaster workshop to tackle the issue of drink and needle spiking
Morecambe raw feeds shop up for three 'Animal Star' awards
Two new festivals proposed for Morecambe entertainment venue the Platform
Second day of disruption as work continues after train derails in Cumbria
Morecambe lifeboat crew’s swift response rescues swimmer ‘being swept dangerously out to sea’
'Street Meets' announced to answer your questions amid new wheelie bin roll-out
Campaign group welcomes new "life changing" bus service to Morecambe
Lancaster prison worker jailed for drug offences
Major disruption as train derails on West Coast Main Line
Talks begin for events to mark Eric Morecambe's 100th birthday
Lancaster music venue due to shut will now stay open "well into 2026"
Halloween What's On Guide
LISTEN: Launch of new group in Morecambe to help with gambling addiction
LISTEN: New centre for people with disabilities to open in historic Lancaster location
