Epress.am News from Armenia
At 1:45 pm on Apr. 3, the Unit 2 reactor of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant (MNPP) temporarily shut down, reports the RA Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
According to the plant’s regulations, cleaning, repairs and preventative maintenance is carried out once a year at the plant. At this time, the nuclear power facility is undergoing repair and being cleaned.
The reactor will be partially operational on Apr. 7 with one turbogenerator, while cleaning of the other turbogenerator will continue. The MNPP will resume operating at full capacity after Apr. 19.
The Metsamor NPP is the only one 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.