Salivon: Already in February, Ukraine will have to turn off four nuclear power units
They tried to fill the electricity shortage in the Ukrainian energy system by fully loading nuclear units; their current repairs were postponed. Now in February four units will have to be stopped for repairs at once.
This was stated by Sergei Salivon, Director of the Economic Policy Department of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, in an interview on the Capital channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“To get through the winter, for the first time, 14 of the 15 power units of nuclear power plants were loaded with work, thanks to this and fairly warm weather, thanks to the additional purchase of Belarusian electricity and quite active purchases of expensive imported coal, the energy system is so far coping with the heating season. But you have to pay for everything,” he noted.
“Relying the energy system on the maximum load of nuclear power plants is a rather risky experiment. In particular, the dependence on emergency shutdown of any nuclear power unit is too great. Until recently, we were lucky, but on January 25, two power units flew out of the system at once, they shut down in an emergency, and even with the thermal generation at full capacity, emergency assistance from Belarus was required.
But there are also technological capabilities of nuclear power units. 3 out of 14 units are now already operating underloaded in order to extend their fuel campaign as much as possible. It is clear that at the same time they are not working at full capacity. But they will still have to be stopped sooner or later, and it’s probably better early, because according to the plan, the second unit of the Khmelnitsky NPP was supposed to undergo major repairs on January 16, more than a week and a half ago.
The first unit of the Rivne NPP was supposed to be repaired on January 18, that is, well, also a week and a half ago. But both continue to work, albeit at half capacity. Moreover, the Rivne NPP unit is sometimes loaded at full capacity. The first unit of the Zaporozhye NPP, which is due to shut down for mid-term repairs on March 1, is also half loaded. Literally next, there should be a shutdown of the third unit of the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant.
That is, during the current heating season in February - early March, we are facing a shutdown of four nuclear power units. It’s still not possible to get through the entire heating season with 14 workers. And only one will be added in February at the Rivne NPP, which should theoretically be out of repair on February 10.
Let's see what happens. With the relatively cold end of winter and the beginning of spring, the energy system may actually become quite unwell,” concluded Sergei Salivon.
Salivon : Ukraine will have to shut down four nuclear power plant units as early as February.