Iran shuts down Bushehr nuclear plant

Iran says it has shut down its Bushehr nuclear power plant based on a previously arranged schedule.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has been quoted by IRNA state news agency as announcing that Bushehr plant will remain shut down for two months.

AEOI has announced that this is meant to refuel the 1,000-megawatts power plant and prepare it to satisfy Iran’s electricity consumption for the peak period of next summer.

It added that the annual refueling deadline for the plant falls in June. “However, given that June is a period when electricity consumption reaches its maximum, Bushehr plant needed to be put off the stream sooner to prepare it for the summer consumption peak,” said the AEOI in its statement.

Iran signed a contract with Russian over the construction of Bushehr plant in 1995.

The project – which was constructed some 18 kilometers south of Iran’s southern city of Bushehr – is the first civilian nuclear power project in the Middle East and operates under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Bushehr plant officially began its operations in September 2011, generating electricity at 40 percent of its capacity. The commercial production of the plant is expected to happen later in 2015.

Iran and Russia signed several deals in late 2014 over the construction of two nuclear reactor units at Bushehr plant. The deals also envisage the building six more reactors in the project in the future.