Second Power Unit Of Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Connected To Energy System - Minsk

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2023) � The Belarusian Energy Ministry said on Saturday that the second power unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) has been connected to the country's energy system and generated first kilowatt hours of electricity.

"On May 13, 2023, at 13:24 (10:24 GMT), in accordance with the staged power start-up program, the first connection to the network of the second power unit of the BelNPP took place. He contributed the first kilowatt-hours of electric power to the country's unified energy system," the ministry said on Telegram.

The ministry also noted that the reactor unit had to be brought to a critical state first, before reaching a minimally controlled power level, which, then, allowed to increase its capacity to 40%. Only after all the above-mentioned stages were completed, the second power unit's turbogenerator was synchronized with the energy system, according to the statement. All technological procedures were carried out in full compliance with the necessary safety requirements, the ministry added.

"One of the most important and critical sub-stages of the power unit start-up was completed, which is the result of large-scale work ... The second power unit of the BelNPP was successfully introduced in the unified energy system, the electricity it generates is supplied to the country's consumers," Belarusian Energy Minister Victor Karankevich said.

According to the statement, in the near future, specialists will work to increase the unit's reactor capacity up to 100%. The commissioning of the second unit is scheduled for later this year.

The BelNPP, also known as the Astravets NPP, located near Astravyets in Grodno Region in north-western Belarus, near the Belarus-Lithuanian border. It is powered by two Russian-made VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,218 megawatts. The first unit became fully operational in June 2021.