Tuesday, November 27 2018 16:34

ArmInfo.In 2018, work to extend the life of the second unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power  Plant (ANPP) entered the active phase. On November 27, Acting  Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Garegin  Baghramyan told reporters.

According to him, as a result of the work, the third turbine and  generator have been completely replaced. In 2019, it is envisaged to  completely replace the second turbine and the second generator. In  addition to the scheduled preventive work at the station carried out  and work on the modernization. As a result of the implementation of  the program, the plant capacity will increase by 10% while  maintaining the same fuel volumes. As a result, the production of  electricity will increase, which will make it possible to reduce  tariff rates for end users. If on average NPPs produced 2.4 billion  kW / h of electricity, then as a result of modernization, these  volumes will increase to 2.8 billion kW / h. Thus, an additional 400  million kW / h of electricity will appear on the market, which will  affect the wholesale sale of electricity and lead to a decrease in  its cost. As a result, it will be possible to reduce tariffs for end  users. The production of each 1 million kW / h of electricity from  the Armenian NPP averages 2-2.5 billion drams. Only by this indicator  can the tariff reduction be 0.5 drams. But there are other components  that can lead to a further reduction in tariff rates. However, as  Minister stressed, the final word on this issue will belong to the  Public Services Regulatory Commission.

The Acting Minister stressed that in 2019, after upgrading the second  turbine and carrying out some repair work, it will also be possible  to produce an additional 200 million kW / h of electricity from the  station.  The final results will be known in 2020. Garegin Baghramyan  reminded that the project is being implemented with a loan and a  grant from the Russian Federation of $ 270 million and $ 30 million,  respectively. As of today, the program has concluded 52 contracts for  the supply of necessary equipment.  The total value of these  contracts is $ 204 million, but this does not mean that all these  contracts have already been paid. The Minister also reminded that  from 2020 Armenia should start making payments on the principal  amount of the loan and interest rates. He stressed that the tariff  for nuclear power plants provides for allocations to address this  issue. The principal amount of the loan will have some impact on the  tariff. However, taking into account the fact that some works are  extended until the end of 2021, the Ministry of Finance of the  Republic of Armenia appealed to the Ministry of Finance of the  Russian Federation with a proposal to postpone the payments to the  end of 2021. "In this way, conditions will be created for reducing  tariffs for end-users," stated. the minister

Garegin Baghramyan did not rule out the possibility of extending the  service life of the Armenian NPP even after 2026. Three years before  this deadline, large-scale studies will be carried out again, in  particular, of the reactor installation, and if it is proved that  there are no problems from a security point of view, a proposal will  be made to extend it. But in this case there will not be such a  large-scale investment. As for the construction of a new nuclear  unit, then, as the acting president noted. Minister, Armenia is in a  state of expectation from the development of the market situation. In  particular, the Armenian side is interested in new modular units,  which have lower capacities, but are more convenient and acceptable  for the energy sector of the republic.

Earlier, in an interview with ArmInfo, Gera Sevikyan noted that in   2018 the main front of the works will be for the modernization of the   reactor cooling systems, which will further increase the security of   the unit, bringing it closer to world standards. In addition, in  2018, a huge amount of work is to be done to modernize equipment for   generating electricity - turbines, capacitors, separators, output   transformers.  Within this stage, it is planned to increase the   unit's capacity by 17-20% without increasing the fuel consumption,   which will make it possible to increase the efficiency. At present,   the unit operates at 92% capacity, which is about 380 MW. After   modernization, the capacity will rise to 470 MW, which will be a   solid addition, allowing without additional problems to begin   servicing a loan of the Russian Federation of $ 270 million.  The  Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with Soviet   (Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the   second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak earthquake, which   killed 25 thousand people, the station's work was stopped. In   November 1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the  second power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5 MW was   involved. In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend   the life of the second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. The   project is coordinated by the subsidiary structure of the State  Corporation Rosatom - JSC Rusatom Service. Completion of work is   planned for 2019.  The Government of the Russian Federation allocated   a $ 270 million state export loan to Armenia and a $ 30 million grant   for these purposes.