Belgian Reactor Shuts Down

Belgium's Tihange 1 reactor automatically shut down late on Friday due to a technical fault, operator Electrabel, part of France's Engie, said in a statement on Saturday, without giving an estimated restart date.

The reactor shut down automatically because of a technical problem with a water supply pump for the steam generator, Electrabel said.

It said the incident had no impact on the population, workers or environment and technical teams had been working since Friday and into Saturday to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Tihange 1 had been undergoing maintenance since June and had only been restarted on Thursday. Tihange 2 has been closed indefinitely after cracks were found in its core tank, while Tihange 3 is online.

Tihange 1's capacity is 962 megawatts, according to the Belgian nuclear regulator's website.

(Reporting by Julia Fioretti. Editing by Jane Merriman)