A technical problem triggered the automatic shutdown of a reactor at the Czech nuclear power plant at Temelin Thursday.

A spokesman said the plant was operating at full capacity as part of a final testing phase when the incident occurred. He did not provide any details about what caused the shutdown.

The Soviet-designed plant, which has been upgraded with security systems by the U.S. company Westinghouse, was first powered up in October 2000. However, commercial operations have been delayed by a series of technical and political problems.

Neighboring Austria, which voted against nuclear power 14 years ago, has demanded extra security and environmental guarantees before the plant is put into commercial use.

Sources