The executive director of Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power station, Ivan Genov, resigned on August 24 2009, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said.
 
Genov had said several days previously that he would quit. The decision followed comments by Energy and Economy Minister Traicho Traikov that contracts for the sale of electricity from Kozloduy were disadvantageous to the plant.
 
Traikov said that clients had been selected according to "vague criteria" and the contracts did not protect Kozloduy’s interests.
 
BNT said that a petition was circulating at Kozloduy in support of the nuke plant’s management. As at August 24, there were 1700 signatures, BNT said.
 
Dnevnik said that in response to Traikov’s criticisms, Genov responded: "I am not shirking responsibility.
 
Genov said that the nuclear plant was in good financial health thanks to both supplies to the domestic market that helps it offset losses and the company’s staff. He said that he had spent 29 years at the facility.
 
In an August 24 report, Pari daily quoted Genov as saying: "I guess the statement that Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) has closed disadvantageous sales contracts concerns the buyers, not the price".
 
"I do not classify buyers into cronies and not cronies but into companies that pay for electricity and ones that do not," Genov said.
 
In the first half of 2009, Kozloduy sold electricity to 12 traders, including Energy Financial Group, Vivid Power, Enemona Utilities, Energy Supply, BDZ's Tren, EVN, CEZ, National Electric Company (NEK), Pari said.
 
Before last year, traders complained they could not get a chance to buy power from Kozloduy, because most of the electricity available went to national grid supplier NEK. In principle any company can be a buyer, as long as there is electricity available.