Ukraine's nuclear power industry works at half capacity / Photo from UNIAN
The SBI on May 7 launched a pretrial investigation into limitations on electricity generation by the country's nuclear power facilities.
Power generation by Ukraine's nuclear power plants (NPPs) has plunged to its lowest level in history with 7.41 GW recorded as of May 10, which is 53% of the NPPs' total installed capacity (13.84 GW).
This is the lowest capacity in five years as of the second week of May amid the peak of power consumption, the Nashi Groshi ("Our Money") project reported, citing statistics provided by state-run enterprise Ukrenergo.
This trend towards a reduction in the capacity of the nuclear power plants is also confirmed by data regarding consumption for every second Saturday of May in recent years.
The decrease in nuclear power generation occurs against the background of a general drop in electricity consumption in Ukraine due to a reduction in production as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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As UNIAN reported earlier, state-owned National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine (NNEGC) Energoatom, which is the operator of all nuclear power plants in Ukraine, was forced to suspend power unit No. 3 of the Rivne NPP in late April due to a projected increase in power generation by renewable energy facilities and thermal power plants, most of which belong to Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov.
The updated balance of the country's power grids, which was approved by the Energy Ministry, provides for the withdrawal of three nuclear power units of Energoatom for forced downtime. The price of power generated by thermal power plants is higher than that of nuclear power, which affects electricity tariffs.
On May 6, acting Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection Olha Buslavets said that reducing the production of electricity at the nuclear power plants is a temporary, forced measure, associated with low demand for basic generation, the requirement to ensure the operational safety of the country's integrated power grids and current legislation in the field of renewable energy.
According to her, there is a significant surplus of the NPPs' basic generating capacities amid a shortage of hydroelectric power plants' highly maneuverable generation facilities. What is more, generation facilities operate at a loss and have debts worth billions of U.S. dollars.
Experts criticize the ministry's decision as they say it protects the interests of private monopolies at households' expense.
On May 7, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) launched a pretrial investigation into limitations on electricity generation by the country's nuclear power facilities. The Bureau is to probe into possible illegal actions of officials of the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine.