Ukraine's integrated power grids decreased electricity output by 4.8% or 2.658 billion kilowatt-hours year-over-year in January-March 2013, to 52.722 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), an Energy and Coal Industry Ministry source has told Interfax-Ukraine.

Nuclear power plants cut electricity output by 5.4%, to 23.191 billion kWh.

In particular, Zaporizhia nuclear power plant saw an increase of 0.5% in electricity generation, to 10.72 billion kWh, Rivne nuclear power plant increased production by 21.4%, to 4.391 billion kWh, while Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant saw a 30.4% decrease, to 2.869 billion kWh, and Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plants decreased output by 14.8%, to 5.211 billion kWh over the period under review.

The ministry's thermal power plants and combined heat and power plants cut their electricity output by 10.9%, to 23.085 billion kWh, including a decline of 10.8% in output at generating companies' thermal power plants, to 19.52 billion kWh, while combined heat and power plants cut it by 11.6%, to 3.565 billion kWh.

Hydropower plants in January-March 2013 saw a 57.18% increase in power generation, to 3.591 billion kWh, while municipally owned heat stations and district power stations increased electricity output by 1.7%, to 2.6 billion kWh.

Generation of electricity from non-traditional sources (wind farms, solar power plants, biomass) grew by 2.3 times in January-March 2013 year-over-year, to 254 million kWh.

The share of the nuclear power plants was 44% of Ukraine's overall electricity output (44.3% in January-March 2012), the ministry's thermal power plants and combined heat and power plants accounted for 43.8% (46.8%), hydropower plants for 6.8% (4.1%), while the share of municipally owned heat stations and district power stations was 4.9% (4.6%). The share of alternative energy sources in the total electricity output was 0.5% (0.2%).

Overall electricity output in March 2013 alone fell by 0.5%, or 97.6 million kWh, from February 2012, to 17.857 billion kWh.

The nuclear power plants, thermal power plants and district boiler houses in January-March 2013 cut heat sales compared to the same period last year by 7.4% or 970,500 Gcal, having sold 12.145 million Gcal.

As was reported, Ukraine's integrated power grids raised electricity output by 2.1% or 3.993 billion kilowatt-hours year-over-year in 2012, to 198.097 billion kWh.