NEK operated at full capacity through the summer, which saw very poor rainfall. Apart from the annual overhaul, the plant only had to be shut down once for a short period of time in October during floods that raised the level of the Sava river significantly.

This year, nuclear security and stress tests were at the centre of attention at all nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The stress tests place NEK among the safest N-plants, Rožman said.

Moreover, the plant has also adopted a safety upgrade strategy for the period between 2012 and 2016, which will introduce eight new safety projects.

Some 34 square metres of nuclear waste was deposited at NEK this year, said Rožman. There is room for about five years more worth of nuclear waste. Rožman said however this is only an interim solution and that a permanent solution must be found for radio active waste storage.