KURCHATOV (Kursk Region), January 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Power unit No. 4 of the Kursk nuclear power plant was reconnected to the national power grid on Wednesday, Head of the Plant’s Information and Analytical Centre Yelena Shchepotyeva told Itar-Tass.
The power unit was halted for the inspection of the refuelling equipment under the routine requisition on January 14, she said.
“The re-connection of the power unit to the power grid was held in compliance with the requirements of the safety operating procedure of the Kursk NPP,” Shchepotyeva said.
Currently, all the four power units of the nuclear power plant are operating, the plant’s official said, adding that they are operating at the designated capacity level.
“The level of radiation inside and outside the plant is normal,” Shchepotyeva said, adding that there have been no reports about equipment failures.
The on-line information on the radiation situations inside and outside the Russian nuclear power plants and other facilities of the atomic industry is posted on the website: www.russianatom.ru.
The Kursk nuclear power plant is a subsidiary of the state-run nuclear operator Rosenergoatom Concern, which belongs to the Atomenergoprom company.
The plant consists of four power units equipped with RBMK-1000 graphite-moderated thermal nuclear power reactors. Their overall capacity is four million kilowatt-hours. Its average annual generation exceeds 21.9 GWh.
The first power unit of the plant was connected to the country’s unified power grid in 1976. Another three power units were commissioned in 1979, 1982 and 1985 respectively.
There is no other electricity generating facility in the Black Earth Russia that is able to produce such amounts of electricity as the Kursk nuclear power plant.
In 1994-2009, the power units of the first generation were seriously upgraded. In 2008, the plant’s personnel completed modernisation of the third power unit.
Currently, the Kursk nuclear power plant is equipped with power units, which have the world-recognised modern level of safety and security, and extended service life resource.
All organizations acting as the Kursk nuclear power plant’s operators are WANO members, including Rosenergoatom concern.
Kursk NPP is situated 40 kilometres west of Kursk, on the bank of the Seim River with the satellite-city Kurchatov located three kilometres from the plant.
Kursk NPP is an important part of the Unified Energy System of Russia. Its key consumer is the Central energy system covering 19 regions of the Central Federal District.
Kursk NPP produces 52 percent of the total output of all electric power plants of Russia’s Black Earth Belt area. It feeds 90 percent of the industry of Kursk region. It also supplies electricity to northern and northeast Ukraine.
Today Kursk NPP is the key energy supplier of Black Earth Russia, a region that produces 48 percent of iron ore, 13.5 percent of steel, 19 percent of ferrous metals, 9.6 percent of meat, and 19.5 percent of sugar in Russia. Without Kursk NPP the region would hardly develop.