Modernization of Armenian NPP to result in 2.5 drams rise in electricity price – deputy minister
29.04.2015,
16:10
Modernization of the Armenian nuclear power plant will result in an increase in final electricity tariffs for households by 2.5-2.6 drams per 1 kWh, deputy energy and natural resources minister Areg Galstyan told a parliament Q&A session today after presenting the details of a $270 million loan agreement Armenia had signed with Russia last December for the extension of the life service of the Armenian nuclear power plant until 2026.
YEREVAN, April 29. / ARKA /. Modernization of the Armenian nuclear power plant will result in an increase in final electricity tariffs for households by 2.5-2.6 drams per 1 kWh, deputy energy and natural resources minister Areg Galstyan told a parliament Q&A session today after presenting the details of a $270 million loan agreement Armenia had signed with Russia last December for the extension of the life service of the Armenian nuclear power plant until 2026.
On August 1, 2014, prices for electricity in Armenia were raised from 38 drams to 41.85 drams per one KWh for daytime consumption and from 28 drams to 31.85 drams for nighttime consumption.
Apart from the loan Russia will provide the Armenian government also with a $30 million grant. The loan’s repayment period is 15 years and the interest rate is 3% per annum.
"Given the fact that the repayment of the loan is to start in 2019, it could affect electricity tariffs for end users and according to preliminary estimates, the rise will translate into 2.5-2.6 drams (including VAT) per 1 kWh," said Galstyan.
Earlier, energy and natural resources minister Yervand Zakaryan said the reconstruction of the Armenian nuclear power plant will begin in spring of 2017 and last about six months. Russia also declared its readiness to cover part of the construction of a new nuclear power plant unit in Armenia, estimated to cost $4.5 billion by providing equipment.
The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant is located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. Armenian authorities say they will build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging facility.
The new plant is supposed to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility. Metsamor currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. But the government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost at as much as $5 billion. ---0---
