Rosatom’s Atom Media press office reported on October 22 that the first block-building modules for a 110/10 kV transformer substation had arrived at the Smolensk NPP-2 construction site. At an operations meeting in Desnogorsk, project participants said the first batches had reached the general contractor’s base and were undergoing incoming inspection. The building will be assembled from 16 parts; manufacturers had also begun preparing power and auxiliary equipment for shipment.

Rosatom describes the substation as the centre of the construction and installation base’s power system. It is intended to supply seven smaller distribution substations and provide normal electricity to the site’s facilities. The project manager quoted in the release said the arrangement would allow the base to move fully from temporary diesel generation to a permanent supply scheme. This is a construction-site infrastructure step, not the commissioning of the new reactor units.

The release says work is also under way on a reinforcement workshop, client and contractor buildings, a canteen, roads and utility networks. Under equipment contracts for 2026–2027, 38 lots covering 5,332 items for the construction base and preparatory period had been launched. The release says procurement is giving priority to equipment with long manufacturing lead times for the main construction phase.

Smolensk NPP-2 is planned as two units with VVER-Optimal reactors; Atom Media gives their combined installed capacity as 2,400 MW. The existing Smolensk plant operates three 1,000 MW units. The new units are intended to replace existing capacity in stages as the operating units reach the end of their service lives. The release does not give an operating date for the substation as a future generation facility; it refers to March 2027 as the target for moving into the main construction phase.

Rosatom’s October 23 operating-results release describes the existing Smolensk station as three operating units, each with 1,000 MW electric capacity, and says the plant supplies more than 20 billion kWh to Russia’s Unified Power System annually. That is context for the new project’s construction infrastructure; it does not mean the new substation itself will generate electricity. Separate project statements describe Smolensk NPP-2 as a replacement build, with two planned units totalling 2,400 MW. An official 2023 Rosatom environmental report lists the existing RBMK units’ commissioning years as 1982, 1985 and 1990, with planned operating end years of 2027, 2025 and 2034 respectively. These are reported plan dates, not a claim that both older units have already closed.

The October 22 update describes preparatory construction rather than nuclear-island installation. The modular building is intended for a 110/10 kV substation serving the construction and installation base, which in turn will feed seven lower-capacity distribution substations. That network supports workshops, offices, roads and utility systems used during construction. The release says 38 procurement lots cover 5,332 items for the base and preparatory period, with long-lead equipment prioritized for the main phase. It also says the project expected a state-expert review conclusion by December 15 and targeted a transition to the main construction phase in March 2027. These were schedules stated at the October meeting; the current release does not confirm later completion.