Energy annexation: what will turn to Ukraine connect to Ukraine to its power system

According to the former advisor to the mayor Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko, a new highway of power programs passing through the Mariupol district and connects the NPP with Russia is almost ready. One of the sites has created a distribution unit with a compressor station, which is an important element for providing stable energy. Andryushchenko notes that the process of connecting the station to the Russian network can be completed within a few weeks.

Such a step may be part of a broader occupation strategy aimed at using a captured station to provide electricity to temporarily occupied territories or even to supply energy to Russia. The new highway through the Mariupol district plays a key role in the implementation of these plans, providing infrastructure for electricity transmission.

According to Elena Penyuk, a senior researcher at the Institute of Security of Nuclear Power Plants of the NAS of Ukraine, the main problem is that people who do not have the necessary experience work for the NPP. "It is dangerous from the point of view that people who work there are not specialists who, in fact, worked at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Station. This increases the risk of NPPs," the expert's focus notes.

Also, according to the scientists, six power units were not served for three years, which makes it impossible to recover them. They need to be fully tested for defects and damage again. Restoration of work requires a comprehensive verification of all systems, which is an expensive and complex process. In addition, the restoration of normal work of the ZPP is extremely costly. And given that the international community does not recognize the station in Russian, which makes its operation illegal.

Although radiation danger is not critical at this time, the occupation of the ZPP creates a serious precedent. "From the point of view of international security, now it means that nuclear power plants can be stepped, this is the main danger. It changes global attitude to nuclear objects," Pheniuk says. The expert is in doubt about the logic of Russia's actions on the ZPP, taking into account technical, financial and political barriers.

It calls for vigilance and international pressure to prevent the dangerous actions of the occupiers at the station. Yuriy Korolchuk, an expert of the Institute of Energy Strategies, expressed the opinion that the connection of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant under the control of Russian invaders, to Russia's energy system, is a technically feasible task that is not difficult.

In his opinion, to integrate the station into the Russian power system, it is sufficient to lay the main transmission line, which will provide a stable connection and transmission of electricity. "Currently, the Zaporizhzhia NPPs do not generate electricity. One of its power units is in a cold stop, the other in hot, which allows to maintain the station in a state of readiness for launch. It takes about six months to restore one or two power units, which is realistic, if there are many equipment.

Functioning in readiness mode, ”says Focus Korolchuk. Yuri Korolchuk draws attention to the fact that there was a power line that connected the ZPP with the occupied Crimea, but it was damaged in unknown circumstances, which led to the cessation of electricity supply to the peninsula. He believes that, from a geographical and technical point of view, it is advisable to lay a new line from the territory of Russia to the NPP to ensure the integration of the station into the Russian energy system.

This approach, in his opinion, will allow Russia to balance energy tracks within its system and use electricity that can be produced by ZPP. At the same time, he specifies that the construction of transmission lines is not performed by employees of the NPP, but specialized services or contractors, which simplifies the organization of the process. This means that the technical infrastructure for connecting the station can be created relatively quickly if Russia attracts the necessary resources.

Korolchuk also analyzes the expediency of integration of the ZPP into the Russian power system. He notes that Crimea is a surgery region that is able to produce more electricity than consumes, so there is no point in directing energy from the NPP. "Instead, electricity from the NPP could be directed to temporarily occupied territories, such as part of Zaporizhzhya, Kherson or Donetsk regions, which Russia calls" new territories, "says Korolchuk.