International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed the temporary shutdown of a power unit at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (South Ukraine NPP) last week due to a transformer malfunction. According to the IAEA's press service, the incident involved unit 2 of the plant, which was shut down following the actuation of electrical protections due to a problem in the 330 kV open switchyard, located outside the NPP site.

The malfunction was caused by a short circuit that damaged a ceramic insulator, leading to an oil leak that subsequently caught fire due to an electric arc. After restoring the electrical connection, the reactor was restarted, and power supply to the grid resumed after approximately 17 hours. The unit reached full power just over 24 hours after the shutdown.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Research Centre, initially reported that three transformers had caught fire at the South Ukraine NPP, contributing to a temporary deterioration in the power outage situation. However, during a question hour in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko refuted these claims, stating that the information about the transformers catching fire was false and part of a Russian narrative.

"The Center for Countering Disinformation has already stated that this is all fake, and interestingly, this information initially appeared on Russian channels," Halushchenko said. "Then it made its way into the Ukrainian media space. But it's not true; the power grid is functioning. The question is why this spreading of misinformation is being done."

Following these events, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak submitted an inquiry about the situation at the NPP to Ukrenergo, Ukraine's national energy company, and received a completely opposite response, highlighting the complexity and sensitivity surrounding the incident.

Source: pravda.com.ua