Despite the war in Ukraine causing energy costs to soar, Finnish nuclear power utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said it will not let external pressures rush the commissioning of the Olkiluoto 3 reactor.

"We don't take external pressure into account or the fact that electricity demand is high. We will proceed carefully as planned and ensure that the plant operates safely," Juha Poikola, Manager of Public Relations at TVO, said on Monday.

Veli-Pekka Nurmi, TVO's Senior Vice President of Safety and Security, echoed Poikola's sentiments.

"Safety must not be compromised. Ultimately, it would only come back to haunt us," Nurmi said.

Trial operations to continue

As of now, Olkiluoto 3 is still in the trial operation phase, during which pre-planned tests are carried out.

Work is also still underway at the plant to correct a fault discovered during a trial run in May, caused by foreign material found in the steam reheater of the turbine.

The repair work is expected to continue until the end of July, after which the plant unit's test production programme and electricity production will resume.

According to TVO, the reactor should reach its maximum power generation capacity in September.

The trial phase is scheduled to be completed by December 2022, when regular power production is set to begin.

Olkiluoto 3's full power electricity production was originally due to start in 2009, but the project has been beset by a series of setbacks, including faulty components, safety tests, and even a lawsuit.

The 1.6-gigawatt OL3 will become Finland's fifth and biggest reactor, and is expected to produce around 14 percent of Finland's electricity once it is fully operational.