Armenia's Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 — a VVER-440 reactor upgraded from 376 MWe to 416 MWe — was shut for a 140-day outage in 2021 to allow extension of operating lifetime, including work to support operation to 2026 and preparatory work for a further extension to 2036. Additional work to support the 2036 extension took place during the unit's maintenance shutdown in 2025. Metsamor provides approximately 40% of Armenia's electricity, making it critical to national energy security. Armenia's pursuit of new nuclear (including the February 2026 US $9 billion civil nuclear deal) is driven by its desire to maintain nuclear capacity when Metsamor reaches end of licensed life.