EDF Energy said on Friday it was confident its Hunterston B nuclear plant in Scotland would eventually reopen, having been offline since last year after cracks were discovered in the reactor’s graphite core.

The plant, which is more than 40 years old, can generate enough electricity to power more than 1.7 million homes, and is one of Britain’s eight nuclear plants which provide around 20 percent of the country’s electricity. “Hunterston B will operate until 2023,” said a spokeswoman for EDF Energy, the British arm of French utility EDF, quoted by Reuters.

The two Hunterston reactors have suffered several restart delays and are currently scheduled to return to service at the end of June and July.