In July 2017, Rosenergoatom Concern received new acts on the compliance of the automated measuring and information system for electric power fiscal accounting (AM&IS for EPFA) with the technical requirements of the Wholesale Market for Electricity and Power (WMEP).

Thus, for the next four years (the acts are valid until 2021) it is determined that a complex multi-level system for measuring, collecting and processing data on the electric power supplied to the Market does not just meet market requirements, but is also technologically competitive.

In particular, when electricity flows between neighboring market participants, its quantity can be measured using the accounting system of both the giving and receiving parties. On the basis of the agreement with the ‘neighbors’ the Concern's system is chosen to be the main measuring system, while the neighbors’ systems are the receiving ones.

Calling this event a landmark for the Concern, Alexandr Khvalko, the Deputy Director General - Sales Director of Rosenergoatom Concern, noted that “the procedure for obtaining the document has required a large amount of serious teamwork.”

“The market is mobile, its rules and requirements are constantly changing. Failure to meet these requirements ends up in charges worth millions and more, and in extreme cases it leads to loosing the right to trade in the market; it’s a catastrophe”, Alexandr Khvalko commented. “Participants, therefore, are forced to adapt to these innovations, changing not only the settings and procedures, but also the equipment itself. For example, due to changes in the technical requirements of the market, the Concern has replaced obsolete models of energy counters with new ones.”

Deputy Director General - Sales Director of Rosenergoatom Concern thanked the personnel and management of the NPP, employees of electrical shops of nuclear power plants that promptly replaced the equipment. This allowed, despite the unfortunate moment for changes (that is, when the existing acts’ validity period is near end) to timely issue documents and perform work on metrological support. This complex of works is mandatory, since AM&IS for EPFA is a measuring system that passes the Rosstandart state control and supervision. “This constructive interaction with the NPP has largely supported the overall result”, Alexandr Khvalko stressed.

The works on bringing the system and its metrological documents into a state fully in line with the current requirements were completed with a certification by the commercial market operator (ATS JSC). In addition to thorough examination of the documents, the employees of ATS JSC have been testing the system at the Concern’s site for three weeks. During the tests, due to high quality preparation, there were no concerns or remarks; therefore, we did not have to spend our resources to eliminate them.

“The issue of compliance with the WMEP requirements has been closed for four years”, Alexandr Khvalko adds. “But we are not going to dwell on what has been achieved: it is obvious to us that the key to successful tests in the future lies in daily maintaining, modernizing and expanding the system due to launching new units, market changes monitoring, and staying ahead.”

The Rosenergoaton Concern (the power division of the Rosatom State Corporation) includes 10 Russian nuclear power stations bearing the status of the Concern’s affiliate companies, along with the vendors catering for the needs of the generation company. All in all, the 10 nuclear power stations operate 35 power blocks* (*excluding the Novovoronezh NPP’s 6th power block being at the pilot production stage): 18 of them operate VVER reactors (12 VVER-1000 power blocks and 5 VVER-440 power blocks of different modifications); 15 of them with channel reactors (11 power blocks with RMBK-1000 reactors, four power blocks with EGP-6 reactors); and 2 power blocks with fast neutron sodium cooling reactors (BN-600 and BN-800).

At the moment, the Rosenergoatom NPPs account for 18.3% of the whole electricity output in the country.