By KYIV. Dec 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has extended the design life of power unit No. 1 of Pivdennoukrainsk NPP by 10 years – until December 2, 2033, the Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday.
“Based on the results of the state examination of nuclear and radiation safety, the board of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate recognized the possibility of safe operation of the power unit as justified,” the statement says.
According to the head of the agency, Oleh Korikov, when making the decision to renew the license, the regulator was guided by compliance with nuclear and radiation safety standards during the operation of the power unit.
Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko noted that after the completion of the next 10 years of operation, power unit No. 1 of the nuclear power plant would become the first unit in Ukraine with a capacity of 1,000 MW, operating for 50 years.
“This is not the first decision to extend the operation of the power unit, but there is a peculiarity of today. The extension took place without a long shutdown of the unit, which made it possible to generate additional electricity. I am glad that we are optimizing all processes. This is important from the point of view of the energy security of the state,” the minister said.
Thus, this is the second extension of the design life of unit No. 1 of the nuclear power plant.
As reported, power units No. 1-3 of Pivdennoukrainsk NPP were put into operation on October 18, 1983, April 6, 1985 and December 29, 1989, respectively.
