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Ukraine/Russia War: Energy Supplies, Gas, Nuclear power issues & potential shortages - June 18, 2022 - current

Update 11 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

MAR 4 2022

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that Russian forces had taken control of the site of the country’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), but that the nuclear power plant continued to be operated by its regular staff and there had been no release of radioactive material, Director General Rafael Mario Grossi said.

Ukrainian counterparts informed the IAEA that a projectile overnight had hit a training building in the vicinity of one of the plant’s reactor units, causing a localized fire that was later extinguished.

The safety systems of the plant’s six reactors had not been affected and there has been no release of radioactive material.

Radiation monitoring systems at the site are fully functional.

However, the operator has reported that the situation remains very challenging and therefore it has not yet been possible to access the whole site to assess that all safety systems are fully functional.

Of the plant’s reactor units, Unit 1 is shut down for maintenance, Units 2 and 3 have undergone a controlled shut down, Unit 4 is operating at 60 percent power and Units 5 and 6 are being held “in reserve” in low power mode.

Two people were reported injured. ...

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
 
Update 13 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

MAR 6 2022

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that although regular staff continued to operate the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the plant management is now under orders from the commander of the Russian forces that took control of the site last week, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

... In a second serious development, Ukraine has reported that the Russian forces at the site have switched off some mobile networks and the internet so that reliable information from the site cannot be obtained through the normal channels of communication.

This has been confirmed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator which informed the IAEA today that it had started having major problems in communicating with staff operating the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Less than 24 hours after Ukraine’s regulatory authority said it had been able to maintain communications with Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, it today said the phone lines, as well as e-mails and fax, were not functioning anymore. Mobile phone communication was still possible, but with poor quality.

The contravenes another of the seven indispensable pillars, number 7: “There must be reliable communications with the regulator and others.”

“I’m extremely concerned about these developments that were reported to me today.

... Despite the communication issues, the regulator was able to provide updated information about the operational status of the Zaporizhzhya NPP and to confirm that radiation levels there remained normal. Of the six reactors, Unit 1 is in planned maintenance until mid-2022, Unit 2 now operates at full capacity, Unit 3 is in a cold shutdown state, Unit 4 is operating at near full capacity, Unit 5 is cooling down for a cold reserve state, and Unit 6 is in cold shutdown. ...

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
 
6 March 2022
United Nations
Peace and Security

In a statement released by the IAEA, Mr. Grossi said he had been informed by Ukrainian authorities that, although regular staff continue to operate the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, any action of plant management – including measures related to the technical operation of the six reactor units – requires prior approval by the Russian commander of the Russian forces that took control of the site last week.

Mr. Grossi said that this development contravenes one of the seven pillars of nuclear safety and security that he outlined at a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on 2 March: that “operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure”.

Communication severely restricted

Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has informed the IAEA that it is having major problems communicating with staff operating Zaporizhzhya, due to Russian forces at the site switching off some mobile networks and blocking the internet. Some mobile phone communication is understood to still be possible, albeit with poor quality, but fixed phone lines, as well as e-mails and fax, are reportedly no longer functioning.

The IAEA noted that this situation contravenes another of its seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety, that there must be “reliable communications with the regulator and others”.

“I’m extremely concerned about these developments that were reported to me today”. Said Mr. Grossi. “Just a few days after I presented the seven main elements of nuclear safety and security to the IAEA Board, several of them are already being compromised. In order to be able to operate the plant safely and securely, management and staff must be allowed to carry out their vital duties in stable conditions without undue external interference or pressure”.

“The deteriorating situation regarding vital communications between the regulator and the Zaporizhzhya NPP is also a source of deep concern, especially during an armed conflict that may jeopardize the country’s nuclear facilities at any time”, continued the Director-General. “Reliable communications between the regulator and the operator are a critical part of overall nuclear safety and security”.

Radiation levels normal

Despite the communication issues, the regulator was able to provide updated information about the operational status of the Zaporizhzhya NPP to the IAEA, and to confirm that radiation levels there remained normal. ...

https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113382
 
International Atomic Energy Agency

Update 14 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

MAR 7 2022

Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that a new nuclear research facility producing radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications had been damaged by shelling in the city of Kharkiv, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The national nuclear regulator said the incident did not cause any increase in radiation levels at the site.

The facility in north-eastern Ukraine is used for research and development and radioisotope production. Because the nuclear material in the facility is always subcritical and the inventory of radioactive material is very low, the IAEA’s assessment confirmed that the damage reported to it would not have had any radiological consequence, the Director General said.

Nevertheless, Sunday’s incident highlighted once again the risks facing Ukraine’s nuclear installations during the armed conflict, adding urgency to an IAEA initiative aimed at ensuring nuclear safety and security in the country.

“We have already had several episodes compromising safety at Ukraine’s nuclear sites,” Director General Grossi said. ...

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
 
IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors

MAR 7 2022

(As prepared for delivery)

Mr Chairperson,

Since my last statement to the Board of Governors, the IAEA’s teams and I have worked without interruption, night and day, on two major issues high on the international community’s agenda. First, the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants amid the encroaching military conflict, and second, making progress on the clarification of the outstanding safeguards issues with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The IAEA continues to monitor the precarious situation at Ukraine’s nuclear sites, issuing regular updates to the public via social media and the Agency’s website. The Incident and Emergency Centre remains in 24/7 response mode.

The military operations at nuclear power facilities of Ukraine have caused unprecedented danger of a nuclear accident, risking the lives of people living in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, including Russia. Last week a military projectile hit a building at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya NPP, causing a fire but no release of radiation.

It was a close call.

Such a situation must not, under any circumstances, be repeated. ...

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/sta...tement-to-the-board-of-governors-7-march-2022
 
The price of gas was already increasing....

HIGH CRUDE PRICES KEEP NATIONAL AVERAGE ELEVATED DESPITE DROP IN GAS DEMAND - January 13, 2022 link


Biden bans Russian oil, warns of ‘Putin price hike’ at pump


By ZEKE MILLER, MIKE BALSAMO and JOSH BOAK38 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, but he acknowledged it will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump.

more...

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-us-russia-oil-ban-120c0152cf310a5b593f6ae7a2857e62
 
BRIEFING ROOM

FACT SHEET: United States Bans Imports of Russian Oil, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Coal

MARCH 08, 2022
STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

Today, President Biden will sign an Executive Order (E.O.) to ban the import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal to the United States – a significant action with widespread bipartisan support that will further deprive President Putin of the economic resources he uses to continue his needless war of choice.

The United States made this decision in close consultation with our Allies and partners around the world, as well as Members of Congress of both parties. The United States is able to take this step because of our strong domestic energy infrastructure and we recognize that not all of our Allies and partners are currently in a position to join us. But we are united with our Allies and partners in working together to reduce our collective dependence on Russian energy and keep the pressure mounting on Putin, while at the same taking active steps to limit impacts on global energy markets and protect our own economies.

This announcement builds on unprecedented economic costs the United States and our Allies and partners have imposed on Russia. As a result of our historic, multilateral coordination, Russia has become a global economic and financial pariah. Over 30 countries representing well over half the world’s economy have announced sanctions that impose immediate and severe economic costs on Russia, cut off access to high-tech technology, sap its growth potential, and weaken its military for years to come. The Russian ruble is now worth less than a penny and has hit an all-time low after losing almost half of its value since Putin announced his further invasion of Ukraine. By isolating Russia’s Central Bank and cutting off the largest Russian banks from the international financial system, we have disarmed his war chest of foreign reserves and left Putin to soften the blow of our sanctions. U.S. and allied export controls are impacting industrial production in Russia, Russian commercial aviation, and other key sectors of the Russian economy. The United States and governments all over the world are going after Putin’s cronies and their families by identifying and freezing the assets they hold in our respective jurisdictions – their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains.

Today’s Executive Order bans:
(read more)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...f-russian-oil-liquefied-natural-gas-and-coal/
 
Oil is completely fungible. There's no difference in use (and therefore in price) between equivalent quality oil from different countries. There's no economic difference between the US buying Russian oil, on one hand, or China buying the Russian oil and the US buying whatever China was previously buying instead. As long as the US doesn't stop Russia from exporting oil completely, the effect of this restriction is nonexistent.

If the US were to prevent Russia from exporting oil at all, that would immediately cause a major problem for the Russians, but I'm assuming that would require an act of war anyway to accomplish.
 
International Atomic Energy Agency

Update 15 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

MAR 8 2022

Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that it was becoming increasingly urgent and important for the safe management of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to rotate some 210 technical personnel and guards who have been working there since Russian forces took control of the site almost two weeks ago, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

In contrast to the current situation for staff at Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants who are rotating regularly, the same shift has been on duty at the Chornobyl NPP since the day before the Russian military entered the site of the 1986 accident on 24 February, in effect living there for the past 13 days, the regulator said.

The Ukrainian regulator added that the staff had access to food and water, and medicine to a limited extent. However, the situation for the staff was worsening. It asked the IAEA to lead the international support needed to prepare a plan for replacing the current personnel and for providing the facility with an effective rotation system.

Director General Grossi has repeatedly stressed that staff operating nuclear facilities must be able to rest and work in regular shifts, stating this is crucial for overall nuclear safety. Their capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure is among the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security he outlined at a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on 2 March, convened to address the safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.

“I’m deeply concerned about the difficult and stressful situation facing staff at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the potential risks this entails for nuclear safety. I call on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there,” he said today.

... The Director General also indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost. The Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
 
International Atomic Energy Agency

Update 16 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

MAR 9 2022

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) had been disconnected from the electricity grid and lost its supply of external power, two weeks after Russian forces took control of the site of the 1986 accident, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The Director General expressed deep concern about this development as the “secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites” was one of seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security that he outlined at a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on 2 March, convened to address the safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.

In the case of the Chornobyl NPP, however, he said the IAEA agreed with the Ukrainian regulator that its disconnection from the grid would not have a critical impact on essential safety functions at the site, where various radioactive waste management facilities are located. Specifically, regarding the site’s spent fuel storage facility, the volume of cooling water in the pool is sufficient to maintain effective heat removal from the spent fuel without a supply of electricity. The site also has reserve emergency power supplies with diesel generators and batteries.

Nevertheless, the lack of power is likely to lead to a further deterioration of operational radiation safety at the site and create additional stress for around 210 technical experts and guards who have not been able to rotate for the past two weeks, in effect living there around the clock, Director General Grossi added.

“From day to day, we are seeing a worsening situation at the Chornobyl NPP, especially for radiation safety, and for the staff managing the facility under extremely difficult and challenging circumstances,” he said. “I repeat my urgent appeal to the forces in effective control of the plant to respect internal radiation protection procedures, to facilitate the safe rotation of staff and to take other important steps to ensure safety.”

In another development, he said the IAEA in recent days had lost remote data transmission from its safeguards systems installed to monitor nuclear material at the Chornobyl NPP and another Ukrainian nuclear power plant now controlled by Russian forces, the Zaporizhzhya NPP. He said he was concerned about the sudden interruption of such data flows to the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters from the two sites, where large amounts of nuclear material are present in the form of spent or fresh nuclear fuel and other types of nuclear material.

The reason for the disruption in the transmission of safeguards data was not immediately clear. The IAEA continues to receive such data from other nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including the three other nuclear power plants.

... Regarding the status of Ukraine’s operational nuclear power plants, the regulator said eight of the country’s 15 reactors remained operating, including two at the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Radiation levels at the sites were normal, it said.

The Zaporizhzhya NPP site has four high voltage (750 kV) offsite power lines plus an additional one on standby. The operator informed the IAEA that two have been damaged and therefore there were now two power lines, plus the one on standby, available to the plant. The operator also said that the NPP off-site power needs could be provided with one power line available. Furthermore, diesel generators are ready and functional to provide back-up power.

... In addition, the regulator reported that the Unit 6 transformer had been taken out of service and was undergoing emergency repair after damage to its cooling system was detected following the events of 4 March.

... As part of his new initiative regarding Ukraine, Director General Grossi said he will travel to Antalya tomorrow at the invitation of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. “In meetings there, I hope to make progress on the urgent issue of ensuring the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. We need to act now,” he said.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
 
International Atomic Energy Agency

Update 17 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

MAR 10 2022

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it had lost today all communications with the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the day after the Russian-controlled site lost all external power supplies, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The Director General said that the Agency is aware of reports that power has now been restored to the site and is looking for confirmation.

Earlier in the day, the Ukraine regulatory authority had told the IAEA that emergency diesel generators were providing electricity to the Chornobyl NPP. The subsequent loss of communication meant that the regulator could no longer provide updated information about the site to the IAEA.

According to the information received before the loss of communication, both of the site’s power lines had been damaged, in effect disconnecting it from the grid, the Ukraine’s regulatory authority said. To ensure continued power, these lines would either need to be repaired or the generators holding fuel for two days would require additional diesel deliveries. The diesel generators were powering systems important for safety, including those for spent nuclear fuel and water control and chemical water treatment, the regulatory authority said, adding that the operator was not able to maintain some functions such as radiation monitoring, ventilation systems, and normal lighting.

... The regulator further confirmed this assessment, stating that the safety analysis report for the site’s spent fuel storage facility concluded that there would be “no impact on essential safety systems” in the case of a total loss of power, including electricity provided by emergency sources such as diesel generators. Furthermore, the operator has also been able to confirm that there are no damages in the structures and systems of the spent fuel storage pool, and their original functions are maintained.

If emergency power was also to be lost, the regulator said it would still be possible for staff to monitor the water level and temperature of the spent fuel pool. But they would carry out this work under worsening radiation safety conditions due to a lack of ventilation at the facility. They would also not be able to follow operational radiation safety procedures.

The Director General has expressed alarm about the deteriorating and exhausting conditions for staff at the Chornobyl NPP, who have not been able to rotate since the day before Russian forces took control on 24 February. He has said this is also compromising a vital safety pillar, which states that “operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure”. Further adding to the stressful situation is the total loss of communication. The site had earlier been able to communicate with the regulator by email.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
 
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/11/1085427380/ukraine-nuclear-power-plant-zaporizhzhia


Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster
March 11, 20225:12 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition

Last week's assault by Russian forces on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was far more dangerous than initial assessments suggested, according to an analysis by NPR of video and photographs of the attack and its aftermath.

A thorough review of a four-hour, 21-minute security camera video of the attack reveals that Russian forces repeatedly fired heavy weapons in the direction of the plant's massive reactor buildings, which housed dangerous nuclear fuel. Photos show that an administrative building directly in front of the reactor complex was shredded by Russian fire. And a video from inside the plant shows damage and a possible Russian shell that landed less than 250 feet from the Unit 2 reactor building.

The security camera footage also shows Russian troops haphazardly firing rocket-propelled grenades into the main administrative building at the plant and turning away Ukrainian firefighters even as a fire raged out of control in a nearby training building...
 
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