By Anne-Sophie Gayet | EURACTIV.com

Doel 2 nuclear reactor stopped working on Thursday after a short circuit which caused one of the control rods to be lowered, triggering an incident in the nuclear section of the reactor. [EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ]

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Doel 2 nuclear reactor automatically stopped on Thursday after a short circuit in the operating system of the control rods, following the Thiange 3 reactor, which has been down since Monday.

Doel 2 nuclear reactor stopped working on Thursday after a short circuit which caused one of the control rods to be lowered, triggering an incident in the nuclear section of the reactor.

Engie says there is no safety threat, and the reactor should be operational again from Saturday morning.

“The automatic stop means the safety systems are operating well,” a spokeswoman for Engie told L’Echo. “This is a purely operational problem. There is no danger for safety,” she adds.

The Belgian transmission system operator Elia is not worried about supply at the moment. “For the next few days, we expect to have enough production capacity,” one of its spokesmen said.

This shutdown closely follows the unexpected stop of the Tihange 3 reactor on Monday morning after a drop in pressure in one of the three steam generators located in the non-nuclear part of the site. It will probably be off until 15 October.

Together, the Doel and Thiange nuclear plants represent 50% of the country’s annual electricity consumption.

As for Doel 3, its capacity was 1,006 MW but it has recently been shut down according to the 2003 Belgian law on nuclear phase-out, leading citizens and associations to take legal actions against Engie and the State. Hearings will be held on 11 October and 2 November.

Doel 2 and Doel 1, which were supposed to be shut down earlier, have been prolonged for another 10 years and are now set to shut down in 2025.

Belgium has also agreed to extend the life of Doel 4 by ten years after it was due to be shut down in 2025.

The amendment to the law on nuclear phase-out to extend the life of Doel 4 will be voted on in parliament at the end of 2023.

The extension of Thiange 3 will also be voted on in parliament at the end of next year. Thiange 3 is the biggest Thiange reactor, with a capacity of 1038 MW, followed by Thiange 2 (1008 MW) and Thiange 1 (962 MW).

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