Rovno-4, a 950-MW pressurised water reactor supplied by Russia that began commercial operation in 2006, was offline for preventive maintenance and a fuel reload, but resumed generation on 31 January.
“For the first time in the history of Energoatom, all available 15 power units of the Ukrainian nuclear fleet are operating simultaneously,” the company said.
In order to significantly increase the operational hours of nuclear power plants, Energoatom and partner Westinghouse Electric have begun a programme to carry out fuel reloads every 18 months instead of 12 months, Energoatom said.
In November, Energoatom and Westinghouse announced an agreement which they said was the first step in a plan for the construction of five new nuclear power units in the eastern European country.
In October 2020, Westinghouse signed a contract with Energoatom for the supply of VVER-440 nuclear fuel for the Rovno nuclear power station.
Ukraine previously sourced much of its fuel from Russia, but in 2014 signed fuel contracts with Westinghouse as part of a long-term effort with the US to reduce fuel dependency on Russia.
Westinghouse VVER-1000 fuel is already in operation in six nuclear reactors in Ukraine. They are South Ukraine-2 and -3, and Zaporozhe-1, -3, -4 and -5.
Energoatom operates Ukraine’s fleet of commercial nuclear plants, which in 2020 provided about 51% of the country’s electricity production share.
