At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, the government made a decision to start a process to extend the operation period of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP).

In the explanation of this decision, it is noted that the planned period of the operation of the 2nd power unit of the ANPP ended in 2016, but a program to extend the operation period of this power unit was implemented, as a result of which the period of its operation was extended until 2026.

Within the framework of the aforementioned program, large-scale modernization and overhaul was carried out at the ANPP, amounting to about $189 million—comprising loans and grants from Russia, as well as about 63.2 billion drams from the Armenian state budget.

Taking into account the already completed modernization work as well as the views of specialized organizations and the international experience of extending the operation period of similar power units, it is planned that by making additional investment and work, it will be possible to extend the period of operation of the 2nd power unit of the ANPP by another ten years—until 2036.

The respective draft proposes to develop a plan to extend the operation period for another ten years, and this will serve as a basis for the Armenian  government to decide the future course.

Adoption of this draft decision of the Armenian government will enable to assess the technical capacity of extending the period of operation of the 2nd power unit of the ANPP, the necessary funding, and the impact of possible investments on the final consumer's tariff.