TEHRAN, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran has overhauled the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) for the first time and reconnected it to the national grid, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said Tuesday.

"For the first time, the annual fuel change and periodic repairs of the main equipment at BNPP were carried out by the capable specialists of this advanced nuclear power plant, and it was reconnected to the national electricity grid after successful tests," the AEOI said in a statement.

"With the beginning of the summertime peak consumption period, the plant successfully resumed electricity generation on Sunday and hooked up with the national electricity grid," it added.

The plant was shut down in early April for fuel change and maintenance by Iranian technicians, Press TV reported.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, AEOI spokesman, said in May that Iran would probably cut its dependence on Russian engineers and become self-sufficient in maintenance of the Bushehr plant by 2022.

Iran's first 1,000-megawatt BNPP was completed by Russia in May 2011.

Iran and Russia later agreed to continue to develop the Bushehr plant. According to the agreement, the second phase would consist of two units with a cumulative output capacity of 2,100 megawatts. Enditem

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