National Energy Administration Convenes Mobilization and Launch Meeting for a New Round of Nuclear Power Industry Safety and Quality Improvement Action

The National Energy Administration recently convened a mobilization and deployment meeting in Beijing for a new round of the National Nuclear Power Industry Safety and Quality Improvement Action. The meeting systematically summarized the practical achievements of the previous round of the special action, conducted in-depth analysis of the new situation in safety and quality control facing China's nuclear power industry during its current stage of large-scale expansion, and carried out comprehensive mobilization and task deployment for the new round of comprehensive improvement action. Wang Hongzhi, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the National Energy Administration, attended and delivered a work speech, and Deputy Director He Yang presided over the meeting.

The meeting explicitly stated that nuclear power plays an irreplaceable role in safeguarding national strategic energy security and driving the green and low-carbon energy transition. Over nearly four decades since the inception of the Qinshan and Daya Bay nuclear power projects, China has established a complete and independent nuclear power industrial chain covering the nuclear fuel cycle, equipment development, engineering construction, and unit operation and maintenance. In particular, against the backdrop of continuously rising installed capacity and operational performance, China's core nuclear power technology research and development and full-cycle engineering construction capabilities have firmly ranked among the international advanced level, providing the foundational conditions for high-quality and sustainable development.

The meeting highlighted a key warning: with the rapid surge in the scale of nuclear power units under construction and in operation, simultaneous multi-unit construction and intensive commissioning at sites have imposed more stringent requirements on safety production management. Facing the compound challenges of new operating conditions, new technologies, and new unit types, the entire industry must firmly establish bottom-line thinking and worst-case thinking, effectively solidify safety responsibilities across the entire chain, and resolutely ensure that nuclear safety is absolutely guaranteed.

Regarding the specific engineering implementation path of the new round of improvement action, the meeting made four core work deployments:

Strengthen source governance of engineering construction: advance safety and quality control thresholds upstream, accelerate the in-depth standardization of nuclear island and conventional island designs, promote at scale the modular assembly methods for large equipment and structures, and continuously deepen smart construction site development relying on digital sensing technologies, so as to improve from the source the consistency and construction quality of nuclear power construction and installation;

Fortify the safety barrier of in-service units: focus on controlling transient safety during the first fuel loading and commissioning start-up phases of new-type nuclear power units, continuously track the in-reactor operational reliability of nuclear fuel assemblies under long-period irradiation, and improve the high-level common technical service and emergency response system for nuclear power operation;

Strengthen cross-domain collaborative risk control: closely monitor non-nuclear safety hazards such as conventional electrical systems of equipment, large-scale mechanical hoisting, and fire, and incorporate conventional industrial safety hazards and nuclear safety risks into a unified framework for integrated assessment and coordinated prevention and control;

Improve the cross-departmental coordination and closed-loop linkage: on the basis of the previous action mechanisms, further streamline the regular communication and consultation channels among competent authorities including the National Energy Administration, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (National Nuclear Safety Administration), the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and strictly implement the supervision, assessment, and closed-loop follow-up accountability mechanisms.

Representatives from relevant functional departments of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, as well as principal responsible persons from major nuclear power development and investment groups, State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid, operating units of nuclear power bases across the country, and nuclear engineering planning and design institutes, general engineering contractors, construction and installation units, and major equipment manufacturing enterprises, jointly attended this mobilization meeting.