Yuriy Nedashkovskiy / Photo from UNIAN
Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn, accused by some media of lobbying the interests of Russian businessman Konstantin Grigorishin, intends to raise the issue of a dismissal of President of National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom Yuriy Nedashkovsky at a government meeting Wednesday, MP Ihor Lutsenko wrote on Facebook.
"Sources in the government forecast that... at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Demchyshyn will raise the issue of resignation of Energoatom President Yuriy Nedashkovsky with the wording "for the breach of contract," MP said.
At the same time, he noted that in 2012 Nedashkovsky was dismissed with the same wording by former Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko, who is currently head of Opposition Bloc faction.
He also said that on Thursday, March 10, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine conducted searches in the state-owned company Energoatom and seized a large number of documents.
UNIAN sources in the ministry confirmed the above-mentioned intentions of the minister, adding that Demchyshyn was initially going to dismiss Nedashkovsky for underproduction of nuclear electricity, but later he changed the wording. According to a source, Demchyshyn and Nedashkovsky often have conflicts regarding operation of Ukraine's nuclear industry. The source said that the reason for Demchyshyn's antipathy to Nedashkovsky was his unwillingness to mindlessly execute commands of the minister, who failed to understand the nuances of the energy market, including those related to the operation of the NPP. In particular, according to a source, Energoatom insists that without the necessary innovations in nuclear power plants it is not possible to start maneuvering modes, required by the ministry.
Read alsoEnergoatom supplies 1st batch of U.S. fuel to Zaporizhia NPPIn addition, the profile ministry delays the process of Construction of the Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF) from the Ukrainian nuclear power plants in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Ukraine annually pays Russia about $200 million for the temporary storage of spent fuel, which is still to be returned to Ukraine in a few years and stored in CSFSF.
According to the source in the ministry, Nedashkovsky also opposed Demchyshyn's decision to import electricity from Russia, as well as to supply electricity to the occupied territory of Crimea.
Read alsoEnergoatom revenue from electricity sales up 42% in 2015UNIAN memo. Energoatom is Ukraine's largest electricity producer, accounting for about 50% of the country's overall power output. Energoatom is responsible for the safe operation of all nuclear power plants in the country.
Ukraine ranks seventh in the world in terms of the installed capacity of its nuclear power generating units. Energoatom operates four nuclear power plants in Ukraine with 15 power generating units, all with VVER-type reactors. Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, operating six power units with a total capacity of 6 GW, is Europe's largest.