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Russia: Balakovo NPP
Address: Balakovo AES, Balakovo-26, Saratov Oblast, 413800 Telephone: (071315) 3350 or 3351 [ "Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant," Institute of Physics and Power Engineering Webpage, http://www.ippe.rssi.ru/rnpp/balakovo_eng.html] {entered 10/20/99 CC} ADMINISTRATION: Director: Pavel Ipatov ["World Nuclear Industry Handbook 1995," Nuclear Engineering International, p. 98.] Deputy Director: Vladimir Zakharov [Vladimir Yemelyanenko, "Arest atomnoy elektrostantsii," Moskovskiye novosti, 15-22 November 1998, p. 8.]{entered 10/22/99 CC} TYPE: VVER-1000 Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), Model V-320 (third generation) [Soviet Plant Source Book, USCEA, Washington, 1993, p. 4; "World Nuclear Industry Handbook 1995," Nuclear Engineering International, p. 28.] UNITS: Four Unit 1: initial criticality 12/85 (operational 5/86) Unit 2: initial criticality 10/87 (operational 1/88) Unit 3: initial criticality 12/88 (operational 4/89)[1,2] Unit 4: initial criticality 3/93 (operational 4/93)[3,4] Sources: [1] "World List Of Nuclear Power Plants," Nuclear News, September 1994, p. 71. [2] "World List Of Nuclear Power Plants," Nuclear News, March 1996, p. 36. [3] Jack Ashton, Nucnet News; in "Ten New N-Plant Units Worldwide In '93," Executive News Service, 13 January 1994. [4] "World List Of Nuclear Power Plants," Nuclear News, March 1995, p. 34. POWER: 950 MWe per operating unit FUEL: Enriched up to 4.4 percent STATUS: All four units were on line as of early 1999. [Sergey Sergiyevskiy, "Four Blocks on Line, Two in Mind: The Country's Largest Nuclear Power Plant is a Mirror of the Russian Nuclear Power Industry," Nezavisimaya gazeta, 4 February 1999; in "Balakovo Nuclear Station Problems," FBIS Document FTS19990214000616.]{entered 10/21/99 CC} SAFETY: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has been assisting with MPC&A and safety improvements at Balakovo, focusing particularly on improving the safety of day-to-day operations. To promote safety at the plant, a complete set of 48 emergency operating instructions for accident management was drafted. In addition, 15 new guidelines for management and operational control procedures were developed and implemented. Operator exchanges were completed to train plant personnel in the development of improved operating safety procedures. Balakovo NPP was provided with a VVER-1000 analytical simulator and full-scope simulator for Unit 4. The Balakovo Training Center, a major project of the DOE, was completed in 1998. The center provides safety training for Russian reactor operators. The training center was fully equipped with office machines, equipment, and supplies. The initial pilot courses, training technology, and materials developed at the Balakovo Training Center have been transferred to the other nuclear power plants. The courses at the training center included 12 job-specific courses in maintenance and operations as well as six general courses in topics related to nuclear safety. Additional equipment such as laser-alignment equipment, motor-current test units, electronics training equipment, soldering stations, a reactor head mockup, chemical laboratory equipment, radiation measurement equipment, flange bolt torquing demonstration equipment and audio/video equipment was provided to complement the 12 maintenance and operation courses. The DOE also provided support for the design and construction of an emergency diesel generator training laboratory for the training of instrument, control and electrical operators. [Pacific Northwest Laboratory Website, http://insp.pnl.gov:2080/?profiles/balakovo.]{Entered 5/30/2000 NEB} SPENT FUEL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE: Balakovo uses the "deep evaporation" technique to process liquid waste. As of October 1996, the liquid waste storage facility was 70-85 percent full. ["Radioaktivnyye otkhody AES," Energiya: ekonomika, tekhnika i ekologiya, October 1996, pp. 32-33.] {Entered 9/17/1997 EV} CONSTRUCTION: Construction of Units 5 and 6, both VVER-1000 reactors, had been suspended; construction of Unit 5 is now scheduled to be completed by 2000.[1, 2, 3] According to a Nezavisimaya Gazeta report from 20 June 1998, Unit 5 is 30 percent complete.[4] Construction of Unit 6 is scheduled to be completed by 2002.[1, 2, 3] Sources [1] Uranium Institute News Briefing, 26 March 1996. [2] Ann MacLachlan, "Russia Okays Plan To Proceed With Major Nuclear Construction," Nucleonics Week, 1/21/93, pp. 1, 12-13. [3] Jack Ashton, "Russia's New N-Plants - The Details," Nucnet News, 6/3/94. {Revised 10/16/96 LBN} [4] [Sergey Sergeyevskiy, "Prishlo vremya dostraivat AES?" Nezavisimaya gazeta, online edition, http://www.home.eastview.com/news/ng/ 98/06/data/n109-42b.htm, 20 June, 1998.] {Entered 10/9/98 LBB} BALAKOVO DEVELOPMENTS (For more recent developments, see the Nuclear Power Developments file): 2/99: BALAKOVO NPP DRAFTS CONTRACTS FOR ELECTRICITY EXPORT Please see the 2/99 entry in the Nuclear Power General Developments file for details. 12/98: BALAKOVO NPP STILL OWES TAXES, LIEN REMOVED FROM MOST PROPERTY Most of the assets frozen in October 1998 have been returned to Balakovo NPP control. The tax authorities only have orders to seize 314 million rubles ($18.9 million as of 31 October 1998) in accounts receivable, the money that the NPP won from power companies through arbitration suits. The tax police have accordingly begun seizing property belonging to Penzaenergo, Ulyanovskenergo, and Mordoviyaenergo. The governors of those three regions have proposed making payments in kind, using grain and other products, so that the power companies might survive. Balakovo NPP Director Pavel Ipatov claimed that the NPP would be able to pay off all of its local and oblast tax debts, but as of 31 December 1998 it still owed the federal budget 102 million rubles ($4.9 million as of 31 December 1998), the oblast budget 10.62 million rubles ($500,000 as of 31 December 1998), and the city budget 5.69 million rubles ($270,000 as of 31 December 1998). [Sergey Sergiyevskiy, "Four Blocks on Line, Two in Mind: The Country's Largest Nuclear Power Plant is a Mirror of the Russian Nuclear Power Industry," Nezavisimaya gazeta, 4 February 1999; in "Balakovo Nuclear Station Problems," FBIS Document FTS19990214000616.]{entered 10/21/99 CC} 10/98: BALAKOVO NPP SUES ITS DEBTORS, REFUSES TO PAY TAXES, AND IS SUED FOR BANKRUPTCY Balakovo Director Pavel Ipatov publicly announced that the NPP would not pay its federal taxes, totalling 104 million rubles ($6.2 million as of 1 November 1998), fines worth 21 million rubles ($1.3 million as of 1 November 1998), or 20 percent of its oblast taxes. The NPP is owed more than 310 million rubles ($18.6 million as of 1 October 1998) by its customers. Since the NPP is largely paid via barter, it wants to pay its taxes via mutual debt cancellation.[1] Because of this announcement, the Saratov Oblast tax police froze the assets of Balakovo NPP, including part of its computer control system, all of its vehicles, the plant health center, and its food store.[1,2] Ipatov pointed out the danger of this action, and noted that the station had already had one emergency in turbine 3, leading the NPP to ignore tax police instructions and use NPP vehicles to bring the repair brigade to the turbine in time. The NPP submitted an appeal to Sergey Almazov, head of Russia's tax police, and was preparing an appeal to the oblast procurator.[2] The NPP also sued its most indebted customers, the power utilities Penzaenergo, Ulyanovskenergo, and Mordoviyaenergo, and won the seizure of over 300 million rubles worth ($18 million as of 1 November 1998) of their property. The utilities are joining in a suit to declare the NPP bankrupt. The NPP has also brought suits against six other debtors for 700 million rubles ($42 million as of 1 November 1998).[1] Sources: [1] Vladimir Yemelyanenko, "Arest atomnoy elektrostantsii," Moskovskiye novosti, 15-22 November 1998, p. 8. [2] Radio Rossii, 23 October 1998; in "Russian Tax Police Seize Nuclear Plant's Assets," FBIS-SOV-98-297. {entered 10/21/99 CC} 6/20/98: PLANS TO COMPLETE FIFTH REACTOR UNIT AT BALAKOVO Vadimir Severinov, a representative of Rosenergoatom, visited Saratov to discuss the possibility of completing construction of Balakovo's fifth reactor unit, which would cost $1.1 billion. He proposed borrowing on credit funding from Euroatom's project on modernizing nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe. [Sergey Sergeyevskiy, "Prishlo vremya dostraivat AES?" Nezavisimaya gazeta, online edition, http://www.home.eastview.com/news/ng/98/ 06/data/n109-42b.htm, 20 June, 1998.] {Entered 10/9/98 LBB} 11/7/96: BALAKOVO PERSONNEL ATTENDING US SEMINAR Personnel from the Balakovo NPP visited the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. station (Kansas, US) in order to learn about emergency operating procedures at the plant. The Balakovo workers are part of a larger group of 18 individuals from Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria, including representatives from Rosenergoatom and VNIIAES. ["Wolf Creek is Classroom on Emergency Procedures," Nucleonics Week, 7 November 1996, pp. 6-7.]{Entered 12/4/96 LBN} 10/31/96: BALAKOVO SHUTS DOWN--SHORT CIRCUIT BLAMED At 2:04 p.m. Moscow time, the automatic safety system at the Balakovo plant shut down Unit 1's generator, then shut down the reactor 18 minutes later. During those 18 minutes, the reactor was operating at full capacity. No radiation emissions have been reported. The cause of the incident was later reported to be a short circuit in the electrical safety system. Balakovo director Pavel Ipatov stated that Unit 1 will begin operation after the incident is fully examined. Sources: [1] Yuriy Sanberg, ITAR-TASS, 31 October 1996; in "Automatic Safety System Shuts Down Balakovo Nuclear Reactor," FBIS-SOV-96-213. [2] Interfax, 1 November 1996; in "'Short Circuit' Reported at Power Unit of Nuclear Plant," FBIS-SOV-96-213. {Entered 12/3/96 LBN} 4/18/96: BALAKOVO INFORMATION CENTER OPENS A new public information center opened at the plant as a result of international cooperation under the European Commission's TACIS program. [Uranium Institute News Briefing, 23 April 1996.] 5/18/95: BALAKOVO SENDS FUEL ASSEMBLIES TO KRASNOYARSK After paying off its debt for the first time in 1.5 years, the Balakovo nuclear power plant sent spent fuel assemblies to Krasnoyarsk-26 for storage. ["Nuclear Fuel Goes To The Bottom," Krasnoyarskiy Rabochiy, 18 May 1995, p. 1.] 1/95: TWO SIMULATORS AT BALAKOVO-4 It was reported that there are two simulators, one in operation and one under construction, at Balakovo's Unit 4. [Janet Wood, "The Simulator Explosion," Nuclear Engineering International, September 1995, p. 50.] 10/5/94: SAFETY EQUIPMENT ARRIVES AT BALAKOVO The EU delivered 80 metric tons of safety equipment, including German-made tube cleaning systems, to the Balakovo plant. This shipment was part of the EU's Technical Assistance to the CIS (TACIS) nuclear safety program. [Reuters, 5 October 1994; in "EU Sends Safety Equipment To Russian Nuclear Power Plant," Executive News Service, 5 October 1994.] 10/25/93: BALAKOVO MAYOR OPPOSES FURTHER CONSTRUCTION The Mayor of Balakovo and most of the town's population are against construction of Units 5 and 6. [I. Deryugin and Ye. Gerasimenko, Russian Television Network (Moscow); in "Local Opposition To Balakovo Nuclear Expansion Continues," JPRS-TEN-93-025, 25 October1993, p. 38.] 7/12/93: SAFETY SYSTEM DEFECTS FOUND One of the units was shut down temporarily after defects were found in the reactor's emergency safety system. ["Russia Closes Nuclear Reactor," Reuters, 12 July 1993.] Page last updated 24 October 2000
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS CNS: cristina.chuen@miis.edu
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