First power unit at Balakovo NPP back online

MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - Power generation has resumed at the first power unit of the Balakovo nuclear power plant in southern Russia's Saratov Region after a fault was corrected, the press service of the NPP's operator said Wednesday.

The power unit was taken off-line after an emergency shutdown January 29. Radiation levels at the plant and surrounding areas were normal.

Earlier reports said the cause of the shutdown was a problem with the safety system.

Built in the late 1980s through the early 1990s, the Balakovo NPP is Russia's main nuclear generator of electric energy. It puts out over 28 billion kWh of power a year, accounting for a quarter of the electricity produced in the Volga Federal District and one-fifth of the electricity produced by Russia's 10 nuclear power plants.

The NPP is equipped with four VVER-1000 reactors with a total capacity of 4,000 MW. A fifth main power-generating unit is scheduled to come on stream in 2010.