Public services regulator approves Gazprom Armenia investment program

The main aim of the program is to enhance reliability and safety at the plant, reduce maintenance costs and meet the legal requirements, according to the report. 

Of the total amount, 178.5 million will be spend on reliability improvement and 122.7 million drams on maintenance, director of Hrazdan-5 unit Karen Sargsyan said. 

The first component of the program envisages modernization of two electrochemical protection units (11.5mln drams), installation of a reserve power supply (47mln drams), procurement of heat-exchange equipment (85mln drams) and reequipping of the stream turbine (35mln drams). 

Investments on maintenance will include procurement of modern equipment and technologies, new machines and tools. 

The initial program included also purchase of a firefighting truck (another 61mln drams), which was not well justified and was, hence, rejected by the commission, said Abgar Budaghyan, head of licensed activity and investment program monitoring at PSRC. 

The ownership of the Hrazdan thermal power plant (four units currently) was transferred to the Russian Rederation against Armenia’s debt of $31mln. In 2006, Armenia’s government signed an agreement with Gazprom saying the company acquires the assets of the incomplete fifth unit with an obligation to complete the construction and the modernization. 

Hrazdan-5 program is directly connected with construction of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. Under the agreement, the electric power generated by the plant will be sent to Iran in exchange of the natural gas imported in Armenia. 

Gazprom Armenia, 100% owned by Russian Gazprom, deals with gas supplies to Armenia. The company is also engaged in transportation, storage, distribution and sale of natural gas, reconstruction and expansion of the gas transmission system and underground gas storage facilities. (1$-476.23 drams). -0-