Armenian NPP to undergo scheduled maintenance until mid-July

YEREVAN. May 5 (Interfax) - The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant suspended operations on Friday for 75 days of scheduled maintenance.

According to the plant's website, the work will include medium-level repairs of the reactor, involving the complete unloading of its core, an overhaul of the main circulation pumps and steam generators, maintenance of turbo-generators and steam turbines, the modernization of some safety systems, and the replacement of cooling system pipelines.

The plant unit is scheduled to launch on July 18.

First launched in 1980, the Armenian NPP had two units with first-generation Soviet VVER-440 reactors. The first unit ceased operation in 1989. The second unit was recently upgraded, and its service life was extended until 2026. The Armenian government decided in March that the unit would continue to be used until 2036. The service life extension project will cost $150 million.

The NPP generates up to 45% of the country's electricity. TVEL supplies the fuel.