National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom plans to master reactor maneuvering with daily unloading to 75 percent of nominal capacity by 2017, Energoatom President Yuriy Nedashkovsky has told reporters.
“I set a goal that by 2017 we will be ready to operate in the maneuvering regime [when the direct contract market starts operating],” he said.
Nedashkovsky said that the first phase of works, during which the company tested fuel in the conditions of reactor maneuvering, has almost been completed. However, Energoatom has failed to agree with Russia on the examination of one of the damaged assembly, which would have allowed switching to the second phase of the project.
In the future, Energoatom will adapt secondary coolant circuits of reactors to the operating in the reactor maneuvering regime. Expenses for one reactor will total some Hr 60 million.
As reported, Energoatom and TVEL in 2005 under an initiative of Ukraine started realizing a joint program on the transfer of WWER-1000 reactors to the operation in the maneuvering regime designed for three years.
Second reactor of Khmelnytsky NPP commissioned in 2004 was selected as a pilot project for the realization of the program. The tests confirmed that the reactor could operate in the daily maneuvering regime.
Today Ukrainian reactors are operating in the basic regime and do not participate in the daily regulation of power in the energy system. Daily fluctuations of electricity consumption in Ukraine are compensated for thanks to unloading and loading of units of thermal and hydroelectric power plants.
Energoatom is the operator of all four operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine. It operates 13 WWER-1000 reactors.
