Armenpress News Agency , Armenia Friday New EU agreement mentions de-commissioning first block, not nuclear plant – official YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The new agreement with the European Union mentions not the closure of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, but rather de-commissioning the first block of the plant, Vahram Petrosyan, Executive Secretary of the Nuclear Energy Safety Council told reporters at the 15th session of the council. “This information [closure of NPP and subsequent substitution with more powerful one], which you possess, isn’t true, because it’s not about shutting down the nuclear plant, but it’s about de-commissioning the plant’s first block [commissioned in 1976], meaning it will not be commissioned again, it will not be revitalized. On the contrary, works are being done to expand the operational limit of the plant’s second block [commissioned in 1980], meaning the project time has expired”, Petrosyan said, adding that an international experience exists, based on which works are being done to prolong the operational period of the second block. According to him, it is planned to extend the period of operation of the second block for ten years, although international experience shows that the extension period for similar blocks in Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and Finland is 30 years. Petrosyan says the developments of solar and alternative energy sources in important for Armenia, but at the moment the nuclear power plant remains the only source of ensuring Armenia’s energy security.