RUSSIA-ENERGY: Money Squeeze Cannot Halt Nuclear Power

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Judith Perera and Andrei Ivanov

MOSCOW, May 11 1996 (IPS) - Russia plans to continue pursuing its nuclear power programme despite the severe economic problems facing the country, according to a senior official.

Deputy Atomic Energy Minister Lev Ryabev told IPS in an interview here this week new plants would be built and existing ones — including the Chernobyl-type RBMK reactors — will be operated until the end of their design life.

He acknowledged the difficulties, noting, “We are facing a recession with GDP down 50 per cent including energy production”. In addtion, most nuclear plants were still owed large amounts by customers and were in debt to suppliers. Many plant workers had not been paid for several months.

However ways were being found to minimise the problem. “This year plants are being allowed to include investment requirements in the price of electricity and we hope to raise (money) for construction in this way.”

“We are being paid in cash and barter and also allow debts to be offset against each other. Some customers, for instance, will pay us by providing the materials we need for construction. It is not the best solution, but at least it helps to solve some of the financial difficulties.”

Last year the operators received two thirds of the amount due to them, only one third of which was in cash.

“But this problem will not continue for ever, and the Ministry is preparing for the future. Plans up to 2000 include continued upgrading of existing plants, completing half-built ones and completing in-house safety checks. The next phase includes decommissioning first generation plants and building new design reactors to replace them.”

But the priority is to support operating reactors and improve their safety. First generation plants nearing the end of their operating life include the four oldest RMBK units (two each at Kursk and Leningrad), the four EPG-6 units at Bilibino in the Arctic and four first generation VVER-440s (two each at Novovoronezhin the Volga region and Kola in the Arctic).

Safety levels of RBMKs and old VVER-440s has caused some concern in the West.

“But we cannot afford to decommission these prematurely,” he explains.

While revamping them would cost R3 billion (63 million US dlrs), premature decommissioning would cost R13 billion 270 mF0071 5 ck 0 CHECKMSG CHECK

= 05111208 DAP0032