NEK, jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia, has secured 4.9bn kilowatt hours of electricity so far this year, which is roughly 50m kWh above its supply plans. Targets in all areas are expected to be met this year, NEK chairman Stane Rožman told the press.

Around EUR 50m worth of investment is planned for next year, mostly for completing the security upgrade and replacing obsolete equipment.

Technical director Mario Gluhak pointed out that the plant had undergone the second stage of its security upgrade this year, with most of it executed during the April maintenance works.

He highlighted the upgrade of the auxiliary security building, which now allows the plant to also be shut down outside the main control room.

The third stage has also begun. It will introduce systems that will secure a long-term alternative option for removing heat from the reactor core. This project is scheduled for completion in 2021.

Moreover, a new facility was activated in the spring for dealing with equipment and shipments of radioactive cargo.

The Croatian member of the NEK board Hrvoje Perharić also participated in the press conference, stressing the high safety standards being met by the plant.

He also highlighted a comparison published in the October issue of Nuclear Engineering International, which ranked NEK 23rd among the 341 nuclear plants featured in terms of efficiency.