Ukrainian reactor shutdown worsens power crisis

Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union - Economic Publication date: Mar 04, 2000

Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS

Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhya region, 4th March: Reactor No 6 at Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya has been disconnected from Ukraine's power grid.

By the morning, the 1m-kW reactor was shut down to change nuclear fuel. Since reactor No 1 has been under repairs for the second month, the shutdown of a second reactor for approximately two months will considerably reduce electricity production by the plant, which accounts for almost one-fifth of all energy generated in the country.

This will aggravate the situation in Ukraine's energy sector. It has been well described by Deputy Fuel and Energy Minister Oleksandr Svetelyk. He warned that if stocks of coal, gas and fuel oil were not replenished in the near future, Ukraine's unified energy system could fall apart. He said he could not remember any other time when stocks of coal at thermal power plants had been so small.

As of the end of this week, only about 500,000 tonnes of coal remained at the power plants. Daily shortfalls in coal supplies compound the situation. Every day, energy-generating facilities receive not more than 80,000 tonnes of coal, although they need 120,000 tonnes.

Publication date: Mar 04, 2000 ) 2000, NewsReal, Inc.

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 04, 2000