The No. 2 generating unit of the third-phase project of the Qinshan nuclear power station, in east China's Zhejiang province, resumed full-capacity operation Wednesday morning after 45 hours of breakdown.

According to experts with the power station, the breakdown was caused by problems with the circular cooling water system outside the nuclear reactor plant. The security of the nuclear reactor plant was not affected.

Sources with the Zhejiang provincial power supply authorities said the breakdown aggravated the power shortage in the province, which is experiencing a serious drought.

The No. 2 generating unit went into commercial operation on July 24, 2003, about seven months after the No. 1 generating unit. Together, the two units are designed to produce nearly 10 billion kwh of electricity per year.

The first commercial heavy-water nuclear reactor project in China, the third phase of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station is located in Haiyan County of Zhejiang. The reactors have a life span of 40 years.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2003)