The volume of baseload generation in the Ukrainian energy system has temporarily decreased due to the simultaneous repair of two nuclear power plant units. This was announced by former Energy Minister Olga Bohuslavets, commenting on the situation in the energy sector.
According to her, one of the units was shut down on March 7. The other one was initially put into emergency repair in the middle of the week, but was later transferred to scheduled medium repair. As a result, both power units are currently out of service.
This development came ahead of schedule, as the next scheduled maintenance was not scheduled to begin until late March. This reduced the available baseload generation capacity provided by nuclear power plants in the power system.
Currently, seven nuclear power plant units located in controlled territory are operating in the unified energy system of Ukraine. Two more units are undergoing repairs.
Bohuslavets warned that under such conditions, even minor damage to energy infrastructure or generating capacity could quickly affect the balance of the system. This can be especially felt in the evening hours, when the load on the power grid traditionally increases.
Despite this, the energy sector is continuing to restore capacity damaged by Russian strikes. In recent months, approximately 3.5 gigawatts of generation have been restored, out of the nine gigawatts lost during the winter period.
The industry expects that by the end of May, it will be possible to restore more than two gigawatts of generating capacity, which should help stabilize the situation in the power system.
