Armenia nuclear plant license extended

Armenia nuclear plant license extended

Interfax
June 15 2004

Yerevan. (Interfax) – The commission for the regulation of public
services in Armenia has extended the operating license for Armenia
Nuclear Power Plant, a source in the commission’s press service
told Interfax.

The source said that the decision to extend the license was reached
on June 8 this year and came into effect from June 10.

The previous license for the plant, issued 15 years ago, expired
on June 10 this year. An application to receive a new license was
submitted to the commission a month ago the source said.

Armenian Nuclear Power Plant plans to halt operations on June 15,
for 65 days for maintenance and for fuel to be loaded.

The plant generated 1.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2003,
or 36% of the total generation of electricity in Armenia.

ZAO Inter RAO UES, a subsidiary of Russia’s Unified Energy System,
and Armenia signed a contract in September 2003 to hand over trust
management of the NPP to Inter RAO UES.

Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, which has two reactors with a total
capacity of 815 megawatts, was closed in 1988 due to political and
economic reasons. The NPP’s second reactor was restarted at a capacity
of 407.5 megawatts in 1995.

Armenian Economic Development and Trade Minister Karen Jshmartian
announced earlier that a program for the mothballing of the plant
should be prepared by the end of 2004.