Yerevan, 4 December 2008. Today in Yerevan, Evgeny Dod, Chairman of the Management Board of OJSC INTER RAO UES, and Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia, have signed a new five-year agreement for trust management of assets of the Aikakan Atomayin Eletrakayan Closed Joint-Stock Company (AAEK CJSC), or Armenian Nuclear Power Plant.

In practice, the agreement signed in Yerevan renews the functions of OJSC INTER RAO UES as a trust manager of the station's financial and economic activities. Under the agreement, OJSC INTER RAO UES assumes the obligations of corporate management of the power plant’s activities, including the management of cash flows, outlay funding and payment discipline, as well as introduction of a state-of-the-art system for financial and economic accounting.

The first trust agreement, also for a period of 5 years, was concluded between the Republic of Armenia and JSC INTER RAO UES on September 18, 2003.

That agreement made it possible, as early as 2006, for the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant to stabilize its economic situation, to pay for the nuclear fuel supplied earlier and start procuring fuel using own funds, and to introduce state-of-the-art business management systems.

The results of activities under that Agreement have been a number of times positively commented on by the authorities of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation.

At present, the nuclear power sector of the Republic of Armenia faces new tasks, such as the decommissioning of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant equipment in place, the construction of a new state-of-the-art 1000-MW nuclear unit, effective marketing of surplus electric power as exports to neighbouring countries.

Given the experience gained by OJSC INTER RAO UES in the practical implementation of such major projects, following a serious discussion of the problems facing the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, the Armenian and Russian parties agreed to pool their efforts to address the problems and signed a new Trust Management Agreement.

As before, the Agreement provides for the Republic of Armenia, the Founder of Trust Management, and OJSC INTER RAO UES to work in tandem.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant was put into operation in 1976 (first power-generating unit) and 1980 (second unit). The nuclear reactors of the VVER-440 (V-230) type were upgraded and adapted for the local conditions of 8-point seismic rating, receiving a new serial number of VVER-440/270. Following the disastrous earthquake of 7 December 1988, the operation of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant was suspended by decision of the USSR Council of Ministers.

In November 1995, the nuclear power station was reactivated. The first unit is offline. The second unit of 407.5 MW accounts on the average for 40% to 50% of the total output of electric power generated in Armenia.