Minister: Second unit of BelNPP will be put into commercial operation in October 2023

The second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be put into commercial operation in October 2023, Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich said at a meeting hosted by the head of state to discuss the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP), BelTA has learned. The first trial linkup of the second unit to the national power grid is scheduled for April. The capacity of the reactor will be raised to 40%.

“In April-September, we will be increasing the capacity of the reactor to the nominal one and carry out tests as part of trial commercial operation. The nuclear power plant will fully go online in October 2023, in accordance with the commissioning programs," Viktor Karankevich said. The minister recalled that the first unit was put into operation in June 2021.

In 2022, it underwent the first scheduled maintenance and is currently operating at the nominal capacity. «The construction and technological readiness of the second unit is about 98%. Preparatory work is underway to start the chain reaction and bring the reactor to the minimum controlled level — 1% of the reactor capacity,» the minister informed.

The president said that radiation safety and operational reliability of the nuclear power plant is a priority of priorities. “We discussed these matters thoroughly when we were weighing up whether we should go for this project, we took into account the world experience. The highest technologies are used here.

This is the asset of our people. Therefore, all aspects of the construction and operation of the nuclear power plant require special attention and a balanced approach,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added. Measures to increase electricity consumption in the country were considered during the meeting, Viktor