On December 25, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine extended the license for the operation of Unit 2 of the South Ukraine NPP until December 2035.
The relevant licensing documents were handed over by Chairman of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate Oleh Korikov to Acting CEO of JSC “NNEGC “Energoatom” Pavlo Kovtonyuk. Based on the results of the state nuclear and radiation safety examination, the Board of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate recognized the possibility of safe operation of the unit as justified.
“This decision is an important element of Energoatom’s long-term strategy for maintaining and developing nuclear generation capacities in Ukraine. Energoatom once again confirms that Ukrainian nuclear employees are capable of operating to the highest safety standards. The result was made possible owing to the professional work of the plant staff and Energoatom specialists, who had ensured the implementation of all necessary measures,” NNEGC head emphasized.
As Chairman of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate stressed, “Energoatom has proven its ability to safely operate Unit 2 of the SUNPP for the next ten years – this is the conclusion reached by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate. I would like to note that the results of public discussions and the meeting of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate Board were considered. The Board also recognized the possibility of safe operation of the South Ukraine Unit 2 until the completion of the next periodic safety reassessment, until December 31, 2035.”
Director General of the South Ukraine NPP Vyacheslav Stoyanov commented that during the implementation of activities required to obtain a license for Unit 2, nuclear employees took into account existing experience. This made it possible to avoid a long shutdown period of the power unit and not reduce electricity production; that is especially important in the current conditions.
For reference: in November 2023, Energoatom received a license to extend the operation period the South Ukraine Unit 1. In total, it will operate for 50 years. For the first time, the company specialists have performed this procedure according to international standards without unit shutdown for 200–250 days, as was the case before.
