IAEA continues mission at substation critical for Ukrainian NPPs, to work on schedule - Energy Ministry

MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax) - Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday continued a monitoring mission at a power substation of the national power grid operator Ukrenergo, which is critical for operations of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, the Energy Ministry said.

"According to the agreed schedule of visits, the mission will be pursued alternately at all substations critical for the nuclear power sector," Ukrainian media quoted the ministry as saying on its social account.

The decision followed substantive understandings reached during IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi's visit to Kiev in September, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

"We suppose that the presence of IAEA inspectors at power grid substations critical for NPP operations will help maintain nuclear and radiation safety and security," Galushchenko said.

As reported, Pyotr Kotin, head of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom, said at an international conference hosted by the company on October 15 that Ukraine designated seven power substations critical for distributing electricity generated by nuclear power plants, where IAEA missions would be deployed. "We have drawn up a schedule of IAEA missions' presence. A mission at one of them has already started work," Kotin said.

The Energy Ministry said referring to European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson as saying following a meeting of the EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on October 15 that the European Commission would provide 3 million euros to finance the work of IAEA monitoring missions at Ukrainian NPPs, which could also be used at substations critical for NPP operations.