Lithuania to close its only nuclear power station

Lithuania prepared to shut down on Thursday its Soviet-era nuclear power plant, raising fears of increased energy dependency on Russia and of a further blow to an already recession-hit economy. The Baltic state is to shut down the last reactor at the Ignalina plant at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT). It agreed to shut the plant, which has the same kind of reactors as at Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear accident in 1986, under its agreement to enter the European Union. The preparations to lower output are underway. Ignalina nuclear power plant will be closed accordingly to our obligations. The future means an opening of electricity market and continuing plans for constructing a new nuclear plant, says Lithuanian minister of energy Arvydas Sekmokas.The General-director of nuclear station Viktor Shevaldin added: Today we are shutting down the second unit, which would enter the decommissioning phase to last until 2016 to remove all nuclear fuel (from the reactor), while the whole project will take about 25 years.For the head of second unit, Aleksei Zarechensky, it is a sad day: We have been working here for 25 year, and I have contradictory feelings today. In essence, I feel regret, but I want to say clear, that we will fulfil our duty till the end. We will do everything as needed, he said. Some analysts have forecast rising power prices, dealing a further blow to the economy, and more dependence on power supplies from Russia. But Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said that there will be no Lithuania is ready to supply as much electricity as needed. Lithuania is the second country in the world after France by the nuclear share in energy generation, which is more than 70 percent. Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas said the bulk of the power needed after the immediate shutdown of Ignalina would be generated at the Elektrenai fossil fuel power plant and imported from neighboring Baltic states Estonia and Latvia. Electricity imports from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were also planned. Lithuania will also have to import more gas from Russia to generate electricity. Russia has been a reliable supplier of gas to all three Baltic states, but Moscow's rows with Ukraine over gas supplies have raised nerves about security in Lithuania too. Ignalina has the only Chernobyl-style reactors operating outside Russia. It closed one of its reactors at the end of 2004. Lithuania plans to build another nuclear power plant, though not until 2018-2020. The government has said electricity bills for households will rise by one third from 2010. Analysts have said the shutdown could cut gross domestic product growth by 1 to 1.5 percentage points, and add to inflation one percentage point.