Assistance Programme Concerning the Improvement of TACIS Programme

The TPEG was created and put in operation with the aim of assisting the Commission when the European Union decided to develop and harmonise through the Phare and TACIS Programmes its assistance to Eastern European and CIS countries for the improvement of safety of civil nuclear facilities in those countries

The EU set up the Master Plan as a programming tool and decided to obtain the necessary assistance from the TPEG. The latter would assist the Commission in the implementation of the Phare and TACIS programmes calling for safety improvement of civil nuclear power facilities, with due consideration to the radwaste and fuel cycle aspects, the decision-making remaining under the responsibility of the EC.

The contract was to be implemented through work orders, each one independently scheduled according to its own specific needs and circumstances, which were issued by the Commission periodically. Within the framework of the contract the TPEG had to ensure on the request of EC the following activities:

Master Plan and Programmes

The purpose of the Master Plan was to define, in a consistent pluri-annual approach, the actions to be undertaken on the different types of nuclear facilities of Soviet design, regardless of the country concerned and whether the origin of the funding was EC or otherwise.
The idea was to define the safety modernisation measures required at each type of reactor and to monitor the implementation of the modernisation measures implemented at each NPP, regardless of the source of funding (i.e. NPP Operator’s own funds, TACIS or other international donors), thereby maintaining an inventory of the modernisation measures required.
The IAEA ‘Safety Issues’ books, the so-called green books, were a principal information source for setting up the Master Plan.

The projects were split into 13 groups, corresponding to IAEA classification, namely:

• integrity of the primary circuit
• I&C
• accident analysis
• training
• seismic stability
• fire protection
• confinement/containment
• maintenance
• system analysis
• waste and fuel cycle
• emergency planning
• RBMK
• licensing activities

The purpose was then to make use of the Master Plan for the planning, definition and preparation of the TACIS Annual Programmes, selecting the specific actions to be performed under the annual budgets of the EC.

The relevant tasks which were requested from TPEG during the contract were:

• Discussions with the Eastern participants regarding their domestic programmes, needs and priorities, in order to identify complementary actions.
• Preparation of programmes of required short and long term actions for each type of reactor.
• Assistance for preparing the annual programmes. Control and updating of these programmes taking into account the results obtained.
• Periodical drafting of synthesis documents on the projects underway.
• Assistance to the Commission in maintaining a structured documentation and database of industrial projects financed under TACIS and Phare Programmes.
• Participate on behalf of EC in the meetings with the relevant actors of the Master Plan from both East and West.

Implementation of the Programmes

Two types of activity were essentially involved: project definition and project follow-up.
The main tasks involved under project definition were:

1. Establishment of guidelines for common quality assurance specifications and common project procedures to ensure the consistency between the contractors in charge of the projects and the final user.
2. Identification of the technical needs and identification of the projects to be undertaken. Breakdown of the projects into appropriate work packages.

Writing of Terms of Reference (ToR) including: the appropriate Q.A. and project procedures, and discussions of the ToR drafts with the Beneficiaries up to their final endorsement.

Estimation of specific budgets.

Definition of the work to be subcontracted to Beneficiary organisations.
The main tasks related to the projects follow-up were:

• Co-operation with the Eastern partners for mobilisation of necessary resources for projects follow-up agreed by the Commission.
• Assistance for some subcontracting negotiations with Russian Institutes. Coordination of workplans of the various consultants.
• Technical follow-up of the on site activities performed by the European Union utilities.
• Analysis of the generic studies performed by engineering organisations/groups and discussion with the TSOG.
• Co-operation with Eastern partners in integrating the results into the national programmes.
• Technical Secretariat

The following tasks were involved:

1. Updating the Project Description Sheets (PDS) of each annual programme and the Book of PDS.
2. Preparing the programme time schedules.
3. Updating systematically and managing the TPEG database.

The contract was signed on 18.01.96, came into force at this date and TPEG began the activity linked to this contract immediately. The original duration of the contract was 36 months. The contract was extended by 12 months and ended on 17.01.2000.

The contract was implemented on the basis of work orders. The complete list of work orders raised during the contract period is given in the attached file.
The main activities performed through work orders can be grouped as follows, according to the activity developed:

• ToR preparation (W.O. 20011, 20012, 20017 and 20028);
• On site Activities project follow-up (W.O. 20015, 20023 and 20030);
• Programme preparation (W.O. 20016, 20025 and 20032).
• Master Planning (W.O. 20019 and 20027)
• Reporting (W.O. 20013, 20018, 20024 and 20029)
• Bilibino Emergency Power Supply System (W.O. 20022)
• Miscellaneous (remainder of the work orders)
• ToRs preparation

Of the four work orders related to ToR preparation, the first two work orders were devoted to the preparation of ToRs related to the TACIS 95 and PHARE 95 programmes. Following these work orders, the Commission decided no longer to request TPEG to draft ToRs for the TACIS programme, instead preferring to request the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) to perform this task. Consequently the last two work orders related to ToR preparation dealt only with the PHARE programme. In addition, assistance to JRC was provided for drafting ToRs of the programmes of TACIS 96 onwards.

As far as the schedule is concerned, the activity of the first W.O. began on 18.01.96 and the final activity, related to the last work order was completed by 31.10.98. In total 36 ToRs were prepared under the different work orders and were forwarded to the Commission in due time.
On Site Activity (OSA) projects follow-up

The activity of the first W.O. started on 15.02.96. The activities of this and the other W.O. were performed on schedule, being completed by 17.01.99.

The activities of TPEG concerned namely the review of Technical Specifications of the on-site assistance equipment supply projects. The corresponding deliveries were sent to the Commission on schedule.

The activity called "large on-site project" (~€10M) was launched by TPEG, with due consideration of the licensing aspects.

After completion of these work orders, the review of Technical Specifications for TACIS equipment supply projects was performed by JRC and no longer by TPEG.

Programme Preparation

The programmes (TACIS and PHARE) were systematically defined on a yearly basis and the TPEG activities involved project definition and project follow-up.
The first of the work orders started on 14.03.96. The activities related to the last work order were completed by 17.01.99.

The programmes were discussed with the Russian,Ukrainian and Phare beneficiaries, then presented to the NUSEG group established by the EC.

The deliverables of the total of 11 phases included in the work orders were forwarded in due time to the Commission.

Master Planning

The Master Planning defined the actions to be undertaken in a pluri-annual basis, while the annual Programmes defined on a yearly basis the specific actions to be implemented via the TACIS and PHARE programmes.

The TPEG activities were carried out during in two phases: the first one from 11.10.96 to 30.04.97 and the second one starting 4.07.97 and finishing by 31.03.98. The master planning was extensively discussed with the Beneficiaries, and presented to the NUSEG group.
A total of 16 packages of documents (reports, studies, minutes, etc) corresponding to the deliverables were transmitted to EC on schedule.

Reporting

The task consisted essentially in reporting on the status of the projects related to TACIS and PHARE programmes.

The activity related to reporting began on 2.02.96 (W.O. 20013) and had been finished by 30.04.98 which was the validity limit of the last work order (W.O. 20029).
A total of 16 deliverables were sent to EC in due time.

The different updated versions of the Project Description Sheets (PDS) and the Book of PDS were main outputs of the activity performed.

Bilibino: Emergency Power Supply System (W.O. 20022)

The task to be undertaken was the re-design and preparation of technical specifications for the emergency power supply system reconstruction and implementation, which normally should have been developed through a contract between the Commission and a Western Utility. The Commission requested TPEG to perform this task which was transferred to ENEL to be carried out by its experts and under its entire responsibility, the TPEG performing only an administrative control.

The work order was signed the 10.10.96 with an expiry date of 17.01.99. The activity was divided into three phases and it was the original intention to perform all three phases through this contract with TPEG. However, the TPEG service contract expired before phase 2 was launched. Consequently, phases 2 and 3 were performed under separate contracts with ENEL (see contracts 26316 and 65069).

Under the present contract, ENEL immediately began an analysis of the emergency systems, based on probabilistic models, which led to some indications on Emergency Power Supply System components' implementation or replacement.

A visit to Bilibino NPP, which was originally foreseen at the end of 1996 and postponed for bad weather conditions in Chukotka, was performed by the ENEL experts in the period from the July 30 to August 5, 1997.

The visit, in addition to the visual inspection of the overall system to evaluate the status, the working conditions, the location of the existing components and to obtaining relevant information from the system operators, had the purpose of defining an agreed set of components to be implemented or replaced either in the framework of the TACIS 95 or in the framework of the TACIS 97 Programme.
Four Specific Projects were identified and in detail:

• TACIS 95 Programme (see project R1.08/95)
  • Replacement of Emergency D/G Switchboards
  • Replacement of Emergency Circuit Breakers
  • Replacement of Telephone Exchange System
• TACIS 97 Programme (project R1.02/97D, which was cancelled and reprogrammed in the TACIS 2003 programme - see R1.08/03A)
  • Substitution of 2,5 MW Gas Turbine with 2x1,25 MW Diesel generators

ENEL prepared, among other documents, a report on the redesign of the Electrical Power Supply System a well as four purchase Technical Specifications for each of the above mentioned replacement projects. These deliverables of phase 1 were transmitted to the Commission on schedule.
Miscellaneous

The work orders not related to the activities mentioned previously were devoted to several specific tasks, such as: Joint Management Unit specification preparation, Kozloduy 1 RPV embrittlement, support to Rosenergoatom for the preparation of In-depth Safety Assessment for Novovoronezh 3 and 4 and Kola 1 and 2 NPPs, technical and financial evaluation of safety valves procurement for units 3 and 4 at Kola NPP, meeting addressing the Ignalina NPP shutdown system.

The related deliverables were sent to the Commission according to the schedule of each work order.