«It is incorrect to say that an accident occurred there» — expert on the situation at the South Ukrainian NPP

Recently, information about an alleged accident at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant surfaced online. However, the Energoatom company assures that no accidents have occurred at the plant in Mykolaiv Region.

Hryhoriy Plachkov, former head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, addressed this issue on Hromadske Radio.

«When it comes to nuclear power plants, using the term «accident» is not appropriate for a country that has survived Chornobyl,» he said.

Plachkov emphasized that there were «no accidents» at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. Instead, a «stationary event» took place. In particular, one of the main circulation pumps malfunctioned.

«It was necessary to keep the power unit connected to the grid. At the same time, it had to be unloaded, as the main circulation pump is a critical safety system,» he explained.

According to Plachkov, the circulation pumps are responsible for cooling the reactor core.

He also stated that an investigation is needed to determine the cause of the pump’s shutdown. This suggests that fluctuations in the power grid during the recent shelling could be one reason.

«It is incorrect to claim that an accident occurred,» Plachkov reiterated.

He added that unloading the power unit could contribute to more power outages due to a capacity shortage. According to him, «the unit will undergo repairs.» If it is disconnected from the grid, up to 1,000 MW of electricity generated by the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant will be lost.

«Each nuclear power unit is invaluable. This is a crucial power source, and losing its capacity is a significant blow.»

Rumors about an accident at the South Ukrainian NPP

As a reminder, Energoatom has denied the claims of an accident at the South Ukrainian NPP.

«To prevent the spread of false information, Energoatom confirms: No accident occurred at the South Ukrainian NPP.»

The statement also mentioned that a defect was detected in the operation of one of the plant’s power units, which led to its partial unloading.

«Energoatom assured that the «issues» would be resolved after Ukrenergo specialists repair the damaged power lines and ensure stable electricity supply.»

Additionally, the event is unrelated to any scheduled repair campaign. It occurred due to complex conditions caused by Russian shelling of Ukrenergo’s infrastructure, leading to «significant fluctuations in grid parameters» (frequency, voltage, and current), which resulted in power units disconnecting from the grid.

Earlier, during a missile and drone attack on Ukraine on August 26, Russia attempted to disrupt the operation of two Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

At 8:58 a.m. on August 26, three power units of the Rivne NPP were switched off: Units №1, 3, and 4. At 5:05 p.m., one power unit of the South Ukrainian NPP shut down due to grid fluctuations caused by the Russian attack.