the nuclear power plant tuna II, the most important in the Argentine energy system, has been stopped due to a technical failure since October of last year. Although a few weeks ago a review of the works that would solve the problems of the plant was carried out, it is still not certain when it will be able to operate again. The impossibility of Atucha II to function takes on special relevance after the recent blackout that occurred in a large part of the country.
The contribution to the national electrical network that Atucha II makes is close to 3% of the total. It is the most important power plant in the country, along with tuna I and Reservoir. At the time it transpired that the fault for which the plant was deactivated consisted of a “loose” part that prevented its normal operation. Although the company clarified that the defect does not represent a threat to the safety of the plant, they assured that it compromises it in terms of electrical and financial generation.
Despite the fact that it is only a part that fails, the months it is taking to fix the damage does not seem like an exaggeration: the removal of the piece implies a very complex technical deploymentsince it is located in a sector of the reactor that can only be accessed with a mechanical arm.
tuna II It has been operating since 2014, after its construction resumed, which had been halted since 2006. It is the most powerful plant: it generates 745 Mwe (electrical megawatts)in front of Atucha I (362 Mwe) and Embalse (656 Mwe), according to Argentine Nuclear Power Plant.
Recently, due to a fire generated in a field near general rodriguezthe high-voltage power line that connects said city with Bell. In compliance with security protocols, important power generation plants were disengaged from service, such as central portand nuclear Atucha I and Reservoir.
The massive blackout occurred around 4:00 p.m., right in the middle of a heat wave that had peak temperatures of 36 degrees. The AMBA areas and various provinces, such as Cordoba, Santa Fe, La Rioja, Rio Negro, either Neuquen, were affected by the blackout, and the government estimates that around 20 million users were affected. “For protection, the networks are turned off and stop transmitting energy. In this case, two things happen: at one end of the line is the demand, the users who lose electricity. On the other side, there are the generators, which are left without the possibility of injecting electricity, ”he explained to TN Santiago Yanotti, Undersecretary of Electric Power. “On a day like today, when due to the high temperatures there was a very high demand of 25,000 MW, 9,000 MW were lost due to that fire. 37% of the energy demand was left without service,” he added.
