News

VILNIUS, Dec 01, BNS - Lithuania's Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP), which covers some 80 percent of the country's electricity needs, will be switched off at 11 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2009, in line with the order signed by the INPP CEO Viktor Shevaldin at the end of November.

"I have signed the order based on the government's decision of Nov. 4. We have coordinated the schedule with Lietuvos Energija and have notifiedVATESI [the State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate] accordingly. This willbe a usual switch-off of the reactor, just as we would do whenever switching the plant off for maintenance.

 Starting from Jan. 1, we will be selling electricity no more," Shevaldin told BNS. The maximum capacity of the second unit - the sole operating unit of the INPP - will be reduced gradually to 700 MW, from 1,320 MW from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. and further down to 250 MW from 10 p.m. till 11 p.m. via the switch-off of one of two operating generators.

The reactor and the second generator should be stopped at 11 p.m. Technical director Genady Negrivoda has been charged with ensuring the safety of the INPP switch-off. The first unit of INPP, which is considered unsafe by the West, was closed on Dec. 31, 2004.

The second unit shall be shut down at the end of2009, in line with Lithuania's pre-accession commitments to the EU. With the INPP shut down, the prices of electricity for domestic userswill grow by some 7-9 Lithuanian cents (2.03-2.6 euro cents) per 1 kWh from January.