A mill scale trial was performed where chips were mechanically pretreated and impregnated with sodium sulfite (<7.2 g/kg). Pretreated chips were refined in two parallel double disc refiners (RGP68DD) using two different conditions: Turbine™ segment at higher production rate (higher intensity) and Low Shive™ segment at normal production rate (lower intensity). By combining the Turbine segments with chip pretreatment using a sodium sulphite charge of 3.6 g/kg it was possible to reduce the specific energy consumption by 15%, while maintaining pulp properties, compared with the lower intensity refining without pretreatment.