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Power unit No 2 of Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP shutdown due to failure

The nuclear power plant is located in the town of Yuzhnoukrainsk, Nikolayev region of Ukraine

KIEV, April 17 (Itar-Tass) —— Power unit No. 2 of the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant was disconnected from the national power grid overnight to Tuesday, the press service of the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry said.

The breakdown of the power unit’s main transformer and further failure of the high-voltage electric transmission line switched on the unit’s safety control system, the press service explained.

“The power unit’s generating capacity was decreased to the minimum controllable level and disconnected from the national power grid,” the press service said, adding, “The plant’s staffers do their best to overcome the defect.”

“The level of radiation inside and outside the plant is normal,” the ministry’s press service said in a statement.

The nuclear power plant is located in the town of Yuzhnoukrainsk, Nikolayev region of Ukraine. The NPP is equipped with three VVER-1000 water-cooled water-moderated reactors. Their total generating capacity is 3,000 megawatts.

The construction of the plant and the satellite town of Uzhnoukrainsk was started in the spring 1975. The first power unit was commissioned in 1982. The second and the third power units were put into operation and connected to the national power grid in 1985 and 1989 respectively.

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