Russian Company No Longer Wants to Manage Armenia Nuclear Power Plant: Kommersant

Russian state energy holding InterRAO UES began negotiations with Armenia to change the terms on which the company manages the Armenian (Metsamor) Nuclear Power Plant, a source close to the holding told Kommersant. The source explained that the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) is considered a “fast-growing risky non-core activity” to RAO. The company, however, declined to provide official comments.

ANPP (or MNPP) belongs to Armenia and has one operating unit with a capacity of about 400 MW, which will cease operating in 2016. The plant produces 40% of the electricity in the country. InterRAO has been managing the MNPP since 2003, and its management contract expires in 2013.

According to the paper’s source, InterRAO wants to transfer its authorities to Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation. According to him, RAO wishes to prematurely give up management of the station. For the energy holding, it’s not important who will replace it in managing the power plant, either Armenia or Rosatom, said the source; however, it’s important for it to be a company for which nuclear power is its core business.

But it’s not clear whether InterRAO will be able to reach an agreement with Rosatom. A representative at the state corporation informed Kommersant that Rosatom is not interested in managing the ANPP unit. First of all, Rosatom is working on a project to create a new unit with a capacity of 1GW. Metsamorenergoatom and Armenia’s Ministry of Economy and Natural Resources are to build this energy block by 2017. Investments in the project are estimated at being $4–5 billion USD. Rosatom also supplies fuel to the Armenian plant.

The Metsamor NPP is the only nuclear power plant in the South Caucasus. Just a half-hour drive (30 km) from the Armenian capital, the Soviet-era nuclear power plant began operations in 1980 but closed in March 1989 following the Spitak earthquake. It was reopened in 1993 and operational since November 1995, following the energy crisis in the country. The Armenian nuclear power plant will cease operations by 2016. There are plans to construct a new power plant to replace Metsamor.