Second power unit of Armenian NPP brought to halt for preventive repairs
YEREVAN, April 18. /ARKA/. The second power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was brought to a 73-day halt last Saturday for the scheduled annual preventive repair, the facility said in a Facebook post.
It said the preventive repair includes a set of measures such as average repairs of the reactor with partial core reloading, the main circulating pumps #4 and #5, the current repair of the main circulating pumps #1 and #6, the overhaul of steam generators #4 and #5 and average repair of turbine generators.
Other measures include emergency core cooling, as well as modernization of reliable power supply and sprinkler systems, as well as of the auxiliary systems of the turbine unit.
The preventive measures will be carried out by local specialists together with experts from Russia, Croatia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and some other countries with extensive experience in repairing systems and equipment of nuclear power plants. The second unit will be reconnected to the national power grid on June 28.
The Armenian NPP, the only one in the South Caucasus, is located near the town of Metsamor about 30 km west of the capital city Yerevan. It accounts for up to 40% of all electricity generated in the country.
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.
In March 2014, Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life up to 2026 thanks a $270 million Russian loam to Armenia and a $30 million grant. The key contractor is Rusatom Service JSC, a division of Rosatom State Nuclear Corporation). -0-
