The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant has successfully completed a large-scale self-assessment using the WANO Paris Centre Peer Review methodology. The SUNPP has become the first of the branches of JSC “NNEGC “Energoatom” to undergo this procedure, aimed at a comprehensive assessment of all aspects the plant activities – from the equipment technical condition to the arrangement of management and safety culture.
The self-assessment became a response to the impossibility of conducting comprehensive international reviews in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of a full-scale war, international experts were unable to visit Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
“In order to maintain a high level of safety and reliability of operation, this year Energoatom initiated internal assessments of its branches. The SUNPP review has been carried out according to “Performance Objectives and Criteria 2019-1”,” said Viktor Savorona, SUNPP Deputy Director General for Quality and Management.
Specialists from other Ukrainian NPPs and secondees from the WANO Paris Center, experienced experts who had participated in peer reviews at the international level, composed the assessment team.
Vyacheslav Stoyanov, SUNPP Director General, emphasized that during the mission, the plant staff was as open to cooperation as possible, “The self-assessment took place in an atmosphere of complete trust and openness of our team. We consciously were committed to look at the Company performance from a different perspective in order to objectively assess our processes, identify opportunities for improvement, and at the same time demonstrate best practices. It is a pleasure that the experts noted 15 positive groundworks to be extended to other NPP sites. This is our contribution to the development of the entire Company.”
The experts were able to assess the real situation at the enterprise as objectively as possible, to compare the current state of plant operation, maintenance, technical support and management with international standards and best practices of the industry.
“This is not a review in the classical sense, but teamwork,” emphasized Oleksandr Ostapovets, head of the expert group, Inspector General – Director for Safety, Acting Member of the Board of JSC “NNEGC “Energoatom”. “The goal is not only to check compliance with current standards, but also to identify the potential for improvement in order to increase the efficiency and safety of the NPP operation.”
Based on the results of the activities of the expert team, all the findings and conclusions were compiled into a report, which would be submitted to the WANO Paris Center. By the end of 2025, similar self-assessment procedures are also planned for the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne Nuclear Power Plants.
