Ukraine to expand Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant as Shmyhal unveils energy sector overhaul
Denys Shmyhal (Photo: Screenshot from video / Rada)
Ukraine must urgently ramp up construction of new nuclear
power units, with Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant (Khmelnytskyi NPP) best
positioned to lead the effort, First Deputy Prime Minister and newly appointed
Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said during remarks to the Verkhovna Rada, state
news agency Ukrinform
reported on Jan. 14.
Shmyhal stressed that nuclear power remains the backbone of
Ukraine’s energy system and must be expanded.
“Wherever it is currently possible to act quickly and build
nuclear units on the basis of already developed projects, this must be done.
Khmelnytskyi NPP is the closest to launching new nuclear construction. So my
position is clear — we must move forward and build as fast as possible,”
Shmyhal said.
He also backed the corporatization of PJSC Centrenergo with
a view toward its future privatization.
In 2023, it was reported that Ukraine planned to purchase
two Russian-made nuclear reactors from Bulgaria for Khmelnytskyi NPP.
Installing the two units was expected to add nearly 2,200 MW to Ukraine’s power
grid.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the relevant draft law in
April 2024.
At the time, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said the
third unit at Khmelnytskyi NPP could be completed within three years, noting
that the project would be financed with credit funds.
Lawmakers attempted several times to bring the bill on
completing Units No. 3 and No. 4 at Khmelnytskyi NPP to a vote, but it was
repeatedly removed from the parliamentary agenda.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly endorsed the plant’s
completion on Feb. 5, 2025, and the Verkhovna Rada later passed the law.
On March 13, 2025, Zelenskyy signed Bill No. 11392
authorizing the purchase of equipment necessary to complete construction of the
two reactors at Khmelnytskyi NPP.
However, in April, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Atanas
Zafirov said Bulgaria would not sell Ukraine the two VVER-1000 reactor vessels
that had been under negotiation.
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