Coal power stations Dnipropetrovsk – Dnieper and Krivoy Rog are fully supplied with coal. The plants are ready for operation, but they are working only with 35% of their capacities, according to the press service of DTEK.
Imposed energy market rules on the composition of TPP units in national energy balance is endangering the work of power plants and its now less than the technological minimum, this situation can lead to a complete stop of power plants and consequently to the emergency heating for the city.
Today, thermal power plants in Ukraine operate with minimal output due to a fall in electricity consumption and load imbalance, because TPPs loading is significantly reduced in favor of nuclear energy plants. During 2015 reduction of electricity supply in thermal power plants accounted for 35%.
With abnormally low level of water in accumulations of HPPs, energy system has not been able to maneuver and to ensure a balance in the power system. Accordingly, there is an increased need for adjusting of capacities of TPP, most of which are designed to operate even in the basic version of the schedule. But during the 2014 and 2015 power units worked non-normative, turned on and off almost daily. This mode wears off the equipment, increases fuel consumption, as well as the negative impact on the environmental performance of thermal power plants that acute inhabitants of the region.
Currently, the Ministry of Energy and Mines will initiate abolition of the requirement for the minimum composition for thermal equipment. This will lead to the fact that generating companies will not be able to maintain the health of unclaimed units and power system of Ukraine may lose part of the maneuvering capacity, which can not be recovered. Reducing the load below the minimum of composition units, accelerate the deterioration of the equipment, increase the accident rate and the extremely negative impact on the ecology of plants.
Furthermore, for reliable operation of the united energy system of Ukraine in particular, the Krivoy Rog TES – is obligatory, because the station provides the possibility of replacement for Zaporozhye nuclear power plant – during reduced production of nuclear power plants Krivoy Rog TPP takes over the main burden of the production of the missing power energy-intensive in the region and the balance in the grid during peak periods of consumption. In addition, each thermal power plant is the only source of heat and hot water for the surrounding towns. Thus, the Dnieper TPP supplies heat to more than 300 thousand inhabitants of the right bank of Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoy Rog TPP – 15 thousand residents of Zelenodolsk. In the event of an emergency stop TPP these people will be left without heat.
“The debt of Dnieper TPP DTEK is UAH 270 million – comparable to the cost of 3 annual maintenance overhaul projects or cost of construction of 2 modern electrostatic precipitators for cleaning thermal power plant flue gas. Nevertheless, we were able to prepare all of our power units for reliable operation in the autumn-winter period, – noted the director of the Dnieper TPP DTEK Sergei Degtyarenko. – When the units are idle, we have no way to earn money to pay for the production costs in full. This means that we do not just produce less electricity. This chain leads to a decrease in the volume of coal purchase and downloading Ukrainian mines, a reduction of payments to the budget and risk for heat. If you are working, for example, a power unit, an accident occurs, we simply can not quickly pick up the work of the standby unit. And in terms of heating the cities, this means no heat in the apartments of about 300 thousand citizens, and the inability to generate steam in the start-up operation to another unit. This will do just nothing. “
