Unit 4 of Russia's Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down for Scheduled Major Overhaul

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 26, 2026, Unit 4 of the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant, a subsidiary of the Electric Power Division of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, was officially disconnected from the grid and entered the stage of preventive major overhaul and modernization upgrade in accordance with the established approved plan. Conducting regular preventive maintenance is a core routine measure for Russian nuclear power plants to maintain a high level of safety margin for equipment and ensure continuous and stable power grid supply.

Alexey Portnov, Head of the Maintenance Management Department at Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant, stated that as a key battle in the final phase of the plant's 2026 major overhaul, this overhaul round has planned multiple major equipment upgrade projects, with key focuses including the comprehensive replacement of valves and piping components in the spray pond, as well as the comprehensive replacement of the original lens-type expansion joints with new bellows expansion joints in the service water system, thereby enhancing the system's pressure-bearing capacity and fatigue resistance life.

In terms of the scope of the unit overhaul, Unit 4 will strictly implement standardized overhaul procedures. The reactor building will carry out a comprehensive disassembly and inspection of the reactor proper, along with the complete unloading of spent fuel from the core and the reloading of some new fuel assemblies; the turbine generator building will focus on advancing the deep overhaul of the high-pressure cylinder of the steam turbine, as well as extracting the generator rotor for intermediate generator maintenance work.

The entire overhaul round will cumulatively execute more than 15 special equipment modernization projects, specifically including the comprehensive software and hardware upgrade of servers, switches, and terminal equipment of the unit information and computing system, the precise update of temperature monitoring instruments, and the comprehensive renovation of the fire protection system and process technical water pipelines. On-site maintenance operations have mobilized more than 2,000 professional technical personnel. In addition to the plant's own team, it has also deeply integrated elite personnel from the general contractor "Balakovoatomenergoremont," multiple cross-plant backbone branches under Atomenergoremont, AER, the Balakovo Electrical Installation Engineering Professional Team (BalakovoVEM), and the Non-Destructive Testing Center.

At present, radiation monitoring data in the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant site and surrounding controlled areas are fully within the normal operating range of the unit, with no abnormal fluctuations observed in environmental dose rates, consistent with the long-term natural background radiation levels in parts of European Russia.

Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant is located on the left bank of the Saratov Reservoir in Saratov Oblast and is affiliated with Rosenergoatom. It is one of the largest and most modern backbone power enterprises in Russia. The plant is equipped with 4 modernized upgraded VVER-1000 (V-320 improved type) pressurized water reactor units with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW each, which were successively connected to the grid and put into operation in 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1993 respectively. The plant contributes more than one-quarter of the power generation of the Volga Federal District, with power transmission covering multiple core industrial and densely populated areas including the Volga River basin, Central Russia, the Urals, and Siberia.