Dmitry Batarin, Head of Public Relations and Information Department of System Operator of the Unified Energy System OJSC:

 — This summer reliability of operation of the Unified Energy System of Russia remained the same

This summer excessive temperature was a serious challenge not only for people but for equipment. It was anything but simple for powermen to deal with this challenge. Electrical equipment problems many times caused shutdowns of thermal and nuclear power units. At once a question arose– whether such shutdowns endanger safe operation of power units, and for good reason this problem was especially burning for the nuclear power industry on which the public opinion always imposes specific requirements. In the experts’ opinion, the reactors shutdowns in the nuclear power industry were conditioned by objective causes being the proof of security systems reliability.

Dmitry Batarin, Head of Public Relations and Information Department of System Operator of the Unified Energy System OJSC:

A possibility of non-nominal situations at nuclear power plants provoked by excessive temperature is associated, in the first place, not with generating but electrical equipment, i.e. not with nuclear power facilities but transformers, reactive power sources, distributing gears, etc.

In such cases happened this hot summer the automatics performed its functions, the system operator’s dispatchers took the requisite measures; thus, reliability of operation of the Unified Energy System of Russia also remained the same.

But these non-nominal situations showed that the operating condition of electrical and high-voltage network equipment used for electricity generation by nuclear power plants and being in their area of responsibility required the same high level of responsibility and maintenance as the generating equipment.