Heysham 2 nuclear power station’s record-breaking reactor has been taken out of service for a planned maintenance programme.

One of the two units at the Lancashire station was turned off for planned maintenance on Friday after 940 days of continuous operation. This run beats a record previously held for 22 years by the Pickering nuclear power station in Canada.

During the run the reactor produced over 14TWh, enough low carbon electricity to power 3.4m homes for a year.

Since EDF Energy took over its UK nuclear power stations 2009, their output has increased by 50 per cent, safety performance has increased by 51 per cent and their lifespans have increased by 25 per cent.

Earlier this year EDF Energy announced new extended scheduled closure dates for four of its nuclear power stations, with Heysham 2 now scheduled to operate until 2030, an extension of seven years.

John Munro, station director at Heysham 2, said: “This excellent performance only happens with lots of planning, investment and total commitment from a very professional team of people here at Heysham 2.

“The investment in the plant during the planned maintenance shutdown will support the plant’s lifetime extension –supported by 1,000 skilled people.”

The extensive programme of planned work at Heysham 2, due to last around two months, will see camera inspections inside the reactor, as well as the installation of new equipment. The biggest projects include replacing two large gas circulators which help cool the reactor.

The maintenance periods, known as ‘statutory outages’, take place every three years and are planned in advance with the National Grid to ensure that there is no impact on the national electricity supply.

Heysham 2’s other reactor is due to continue operating normally throughout the period.