Sizewell B

About Sizewell B

Sizewell B is a nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast. It is the UK’s only Pressurised Water Reactor.

Station Director: Paul Morton
Reactor type: 1 Pressurised Water Reactor
Total supply to the national grid: 1198 MW
Start of construction: 1988
Start of generation: 1995
Estimated decommissioning date: 2035
People: Approximately 520 full time EDF Energy employees plus over 250 full time contract partners

Power station - Sizewell B

Sizewell B is a nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast. It is the UK’s only Pressurised Water Reactor.

Daily status

Reactor 1

Turbine Generator 1

In service

597MW

Status

Nominal full load

Next statutory outage

May-2019

Turbine Generator 2

In service

597MW

Status

Nominal full load

Next statutory outage

May-2019

Notes

Nominal full load refers to the nominal maximum generation in megawatts from a reactor. The output from a reactor can fluctuate even when at full load for many reasons (e.g. plant conditions, sea water temperatures, operating limits/constraints etc). Where the output of a reactor is reduced by approximately 10% or more of its maximum, the reason for this will be shown. Generation figures are net of any imports into the station and may be negative when a unit is not generating.

Return to service dates are provided to the same accuracy as provided to National Grid under the requirements of the Grid Code and refer to the first full day of operation. Where a return to service date falls within approximately two weeks of the date of this report, the exact date will be shown. Where a return to service date is expected to fall more than two weeks into the future, the week commencing in which a reactor is due to return to service will be indicated (shown as “w/c”).

Sizewell B, a Pressurised Water Reactor, has one reactor and two turbines and therefore is classified as being “one reactor” and “two units”. The remainder of the stations are Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors, each having two reactors. Each of these is therefore classified as being “two reactors“ and “two units”.

Additional information on the availability of our nuclear power stations can be found on our REMIT page.

Community

EDF Energy and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority hold regular joint meetings (Site Stakeholder Group or SSG) with local people, the media, council and emergency services representatives and local politicians to maintain regular communications about the nuclear site. This meeting is independently chaired.

The next SSG meeting will take place on Thursday 19 July 2018 at Saxmundham Market Hall. Arrival is 6.30pm for 7.00pm start. Any member of the public is welcome to attend.

www.sizewellssg.org

Read our latest community report (PDF)

Sizewell B Environment Product Description (PDF)

Leiston and Sizewell Community Fund Application

Visit us

Drop into our visitor centre or book a station tour to see for yourself how we generate electricity in a nuclear power station. Our visitor centre has an interactive exhibition where you can find out more about nuclear power generation. We also offer pre-booked tours of the power station, and it's all free of charge.

FInd out more about tours