Sofia, March 23 – IA Neftegaz.RU. The technical government of Bulgaria, as an exception, allowed the nuclear power plant ( NPP ) Kozloduy to continue purchasing the necessary equipment and materials in Russia.
This was announced by the Minister of Energy R. Hristov following the results of the Cabinet meeting on March 22, 2023.
Minister’s theses:
- the government approved an exemption from the EU sanctions imposed on Russia;
- this concerns the acquisition of the necessary materials, spare parts and services for the planned annual repairs of the Kozloduy NPP;
- this decision is of critical importance for the safety of nuclear power plants, since we are talking about materials and parts for which we have not found alternative suppliers;
- we are working to provide the necessary spare parts for several years to come, this is necessary to ensure energy security.
Recall that earlier the Bulgarian technical government canceled the decision to limit the diversification of the supply of nuclear fuel for the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in order to provide an effective competitive environment for existing alternative fuel producers for VVER-1000 reactors.
In November 2022, the National Assembly of Bulgaria instructed the government of the country to take measures to license alternative nuclear fuel in order to issue a permit for its delivery and use in 2024. Prior to this, TVEL, a
subsidiary of Rosatom , was the main supplier of nuclear fuel for Bulgarian nuclear power plants.
NPP Kozloduy
- the only operating nuclear power plant in Bulgaria;
- put into operation in 1974;
- as part of the nuclear power plant, 6 power units were built :
- 4 VVER-440 power units,
- 2 VVER-1000 power units.
- from 1991 to 2002 all 6 power units were operating, providing almost 50% of all Bulgaria’s electricity needs;
- in the period from 2003 to 2006 4 power units were stopped – because it was a condition for Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union;
- at present, only the 5th and 6th power units are in operation ;
- in 2020, the Bulgarian government instructed the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) to start negotiations with US companies on the possible construction of a new 7th power unit at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.
Source: neftegaz
