The heads of 16 central Russian regions, representatives from federal ministries and atomic energy minister Alexander Rumyantsev met in Kursk to discuss ways to improve nuclear safety and efficiency.
Nuclear power is making a comeback in central Russia. By 1999, production had returned to its 1990 ‘pre-crisis’ levels, and now provides 29% of the region’s electricity.
The Russian government is planning to allocate $169 million to complete Kalinin 3 (70% complete) in 2002.
The main argument between Minatom and the regional authorities was about the 30km special zone around each nuclear power plant and the required 2% payments for the social development of these zones. The debate ended inconclusively, as the current law can be interpreted in a number of ways, and the only real solution is to adopt new legislation.
