Evaluation of System Effectiveness for Unloading at Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

The electrical consumption schedules and the structure of the installed power of the Unified Power System (EES) of Russia are examined. The operating costs of nuclear power plants compared to combined cycle (steam-gas) plants as a function of the depth of nighttime unloading at different times in the fuel campaign of nuclear power plants are calculated. It is shown that running nuclear power plants with variable loading is economically unfavorable compared to unloading of combined cycle plants; in addition, at the end of a campaign, the unloading of a nuclear power plant is limited and requires deeper unloading of the unit all the way to stoppage, which leads to greater system costs.