27 Jul 2022 18:57

Ukraine's Energoatom again prepared to start all 15 NPP units in winter

MOSCOW. July 27 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian state nuclear power plant operator Energoatom stands ready to start all the 15 units of the four Ukrainian nuclear power plants this coming winter, Ukrainian media reported citing a statement by Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin on Ukrainian radio on Wednesday.

"We stand ready to launch all the 15 power units from the standpoint of Energoatom's generation," Kotin said.

The Zaporizhzhya NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, is currently operating at 50% capacity because of damaged power transmission lines, he said.

"If we resume the operation of the damaged lines, we will be able to operate all the six units of the Zaporizhzhya NPP," he said.

The other nine NPP units located within the Ukrainian territory controlled by Kyiv would be ready to operate at full capacity, he said.

"We are optimistic about these events and our ability to go through the heating season," Kotin said.

As reported earlier, Energoatom operated all the 15 NPP units in January and February 2022, which drew controversial comments from experts, some of them voicing doubts that the power system's load was optimal enough from the standpoint of the structure of generating facilities.

However, the launch of the maximum possible number of NPP units during the upcoming 2022-2023 heating season could be justified by increasing electricity exports to EU countries to 1,000 MW by the end of 2022.