Successfully Completed Benchmark Visit for Cable Ageing Monitoring Programs

In the last week of August Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) hosted a three-day benchmarking workshop and experience exchange focused on the implementation of electrical cable ageing monitoring programs.

Experts from nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic, Finland, and Sweden expressed interest in the workshop after recognizing our more than fifteen-year-old program as comprehensive and suitable for upgrading existing approaches.

Participants from eight nuclear power plants – Temelin, Dukovany, Ringhals, Forsmark, Oskarshamn, Loviisa, Olkiluoto, and Krško – represented 16 reactor units with over 600 years of combined operational experience, providing a solid foundation for improving current programs.

The first day was dedicated to presenting the full documentation of the Cable Aging Management Program (CAMP), including basic scopes, references, and initial resources.

The second day focused on diagnostic methods and measuring instruments with acceptance criteria for assessing the condition of various cable types. A practical demonstration of testing was also presented, along with analysis of results and explanation of deviations.

The final day was dedicated to sharing experiences in monitoring environmental and operational influences such as temperature, radiation, humidity, chemical and mechanical effects, and specific degradation mechanisms of cable polymer materials.

At the end, participants summarized common conclusions for future work, aiming to efficiently monitor, assess, and confirm the functionality of electrical cables for 60 years and beyond.