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The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine decided to extend the operations of power unit No. 2 at Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant (NPP) until 2026, beyond its designed service life, according to Energoatom President Yuriy Nedashkovsky.
"Today a decision was made to extend the service life of the second power unit at Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP for ten years, until December 31, 2025," Nedashkovsky told journalists.
Earlier, Nedashkovsky noted that the company had taken all the necessary measures to ensure safe operations of power unit No. 2 at Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP beyond its designed service life. In particular, it has replaced the worn-out equipment, enhanced safety measures, taking into account a nuclear incident that happened at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, and made a number of other improvements.
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Nedashkovsky said that it had been drawn up and submitted to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources for further state expertise.
Read alsoEnergoatom set to share experience with EU companies on using nuclear fuel of various suppliersAs UNIAN reported earlier, Energoatom President Yuriy Nedashkovsky had previously pointed to a significant economic advantage of extending the service life of existing nuclear power units in comparison with the construction of new ones. According to him, the estimated costs of modernization of a power unit and extension of its service life amount to about $300 million, while the construction of a new power unit amounts up to EUR 6-7 billion.