Energoatom to restore and boost Khmelnytsky NPP-2 capacity to 1,040 mw after turbine repairs

Energoatom is implementing measures to purchase a new modernized high-pressure cylinder rotor to restore and increase the turbine capacity at power unit No. 2 of the Khmelnytsky NPP.

On Tuesday, the company reported on its Telegram channel that "this will allow them to not only restore the design nominal capacity, but also increase it by 40 MW to 1,040 MW."

The company explained that, since 2022, power unit No. 2 of the Khmelnytsky NPP has operated with a damaged turbine lacking the fifth stage of HPC blades. The blades were destroyed during start-up tests after scheduled preventive maintenance.

After the turbine was damaged, the company's specialists, in collaboration with the country's leading scientific institutions, took all necessary technical measures to restore the turbine's maximum electrical power. Currently, the power unit can produce up to 900 MW of electricity, 100 MW less than the nominal 1,000 MW.

At the same time, Energoatom emphasized that the power unit's power has been reduced at the request of the Ukrenergo dispatcher. In the period following the air attacks, this reduction is carried out exclusively at the order of the system operator in order to balance the power system.

"This is not a technical problem, but a consequence of the large-scale attacks on the Ukrainian power system by the Russian Federation in November," the nuclear power generating company explained.

Energoatom currently operates nine power units at the South Ukraine, Rivne, and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants (NPPs) with a total capacity of 7,880 MW. These units are located in territory controlled by Ukraine.