OREANDA-NEWS. The Board of Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba has decided to decommission Units 1 and 2 of the reserve power plant in Elektrėnai having regard to the situation in the market and in line with the operating strategy of the company. It is estimated that the dismantling of Unit 1 will be started in January and of Unit 2 in April 2015.

The decision to dismantle old and inefficient 150 MW units of the reserve power plant that were built in 1962-1965 was taken due to the high prices of natural gas, low efficiency coefficient of the units, high maintenance costs, and the emergence of new capacities for the heat production from biofuel in Elektrėnai. The price for the electricity generated at these units is not competitive in the market, therefore, abandoning them would contribute to the lowering of both the demand for public interest services (PIS) and the final electricity tariff for customers.

The condition of Units 1 and 2 is the worst among all the units of the reserve power plant. No significant investments have been made in them during the past five years. Their main function was to produce heat for residents and industries of Elektrėnai town in the cold season, which will be of no use after new heat production capacities are put into operation.

'Decommissioning of the old units of the reserve power plant shows that the company is pursuing a consistent operating strategy. The objective of the company is to operate efficiently, reducing the dependence on subsidies to the maximum extent possible. Therefore, construction of the new heat production capacities has been started a few years ago. The new biofuel-fired boiler house will replace the old ineffective units in this heating season', said Juozas Bartlingas, General Manager of Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba.

Even though the new heat production capacities will require smaller staff numbers compared with the old ones, no employee will be made redundant. Upon putting the capacities into operation, part of the employees will become members of the maintenance team. Other employees will be offered positions in the organisation and carrying out of the dismantling of Units 1 and 2.

Studies conducted by specialists have shown that the decommissioning of the old units in Elektrėnai will have no significant impact upon the energy security. The decision taken by Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba was not objected by Litgrid, the transmission system operator responsible for maintaining the stable operation of the power system, and other institutions involved in the implementation of the energy policy.

It is estimated that the dismantling of Units 1 and 2 will take about two years. The company expects that the experience gained during the dismantling of Units 3 and 4 will help perform the works smoothly and efficiently.