Half of Ukraine’s nuclear units to be temporarily shut down
Ukraine’s state nuclear energy operator has announced that half of the power units of nuclear power plants will be temporarily shut down for repair and modernisation in summer.
According to the president of Energoatom, Petro Kotin, the measure will help reboot nuclear power units after Ukraine passed the most difficult period in its history.
"The best time to do this with the lowest cost and impact on the power system in terms of electricity shortages is summer," Mr Kotin said in an interview with Ukrinform news agency.
"During this period, there is no high electricity consumption because there is no need to switch on the heating. This time, the power units will be repaired in the summer, so that half of the units will be in operation and the other half will be under repair."
The Energoatom president added that the normal repair period for a power unit is about fifty to sixty days, depending on additional work; their modernisation, however, takes much longer.
Currently, nine units of nuclear power plants are operating in government-controlled Ukrainian territory, while another six units of the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are shut down.
The Zaporizhzhia plant continues to consume about 100 MW of electricity for its own needs from the Ukrainian power system.