Chvaletice, East Bohemia, Aug 30 (CTK) – The fire of the coal feeding section and the conveyor belt in the Chvaletice brown coal-fired plant caused the damage of 50 million crowns this morning, the firefighters’ spokeswoman Vendula Horakova has told CTK.
Thirteen firefighting units got the fire under control in about two hours, Horakova said.
The firefighters declared the third degree of alert. The fire did not injure anyone and there is no danger to the population living near the power plant, Horakova said.
The damage caused by the fire to the power plant will interrupt the production of energy for several weeks, regional governor Martin Netolicky said.
The heat for the municipalities Trnavka and Chvaletice will be provided by an alternative source, he added.
The fire probably started in the tower to which a 200-metre conveyor belt with coal leads. The tower construction subsequently crumbled, Netolicky said.
The accident occurred outside the power plant production units, he added.
The power plant mainly produces energy which is delivered to the distribution network. There is enough energy in the Czech Republic now.
The Chvaletice plant is the youngest coal-fired plant in the Czech Republic. It was opened in 1979. Its installed capacity is 820 MW and it is owned by the Severni energeticka company.
($1 = 24.192 crowns)
