How does the electricity supply work in Ukraine?

After the start of the bombing by Russian forces, some doubts have arisen in the minds of many, including how the electricity supply works in Ukraine.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was one of the targets of the attacks and from there It became clear that this source of energy resources is a fundamental pillar for the European country.

According to data from the Ukrainian state statistics office, the 23% of Ukraine’s energy supply is based on nuclear energy. The country hosts fifteen atomic reactors at four sites.

In addition, they have six reactors, the plant in Zaporizhia, on the banks of the Dnieper River, is the largest in the country and the most powerful in Europeaccording to data from DW.

After the attack, the country’s atomic monitoring authorities explained that they did not identify any increase in radiation. Russia, for its part, blamed the attack on Ukrainian “spoilers”.

The concern after the bombing is understandable, as Ukraine is one of the most nuclear-dependent countries in the world.is involved in more than half (54%) of the country’s electricity.

They currently have control of three of its four active nuclear and nine of its fifteen reactors in operation.

Zaporizhia is the country’s base plant, it has a capacity of approximately 6,000 MW (megawatts), equivalent to the supply of 4 million Ukrainian families. It is precisely in its dimensions that its level of security resides, a characteristic that the authorities emphasize after the Russian offensive.

They work with pressurized water reactors, unlike those of Chernobyl, which were controlled by granite, the VVER-1,000 of Zaporizhia are fed with enriched fuel in fissile isotope uranium-235, highlight data from The Economist.

These work thanks to the steam heated in the core, which instead of turning the turbines directly – a case that would be problematic due to the high levels of radiation – heats another circuit of non-contaminated steam.

That generates the activity, maintaining low levels of reactivity.

Currently Ukraine shares with Russia and Belarus an electrical unit. The Russian authorities control the voltage and frequency of the network, a situation that dates back to Soviet times.

However, the EU (European Union) he hopes to change that soon. Thus, Ukraine would be part of the European electricity grid.

“Ukraine must now become part of the European electricity grid as soon as possible”, declared the EU Commissioner for Energy, the Estonian Kadri Simson. “We have no other choice.” (I)