Bulgaria's Government is negotiating with the European Commission (EC) to open units 3 and 4 of Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) that were closed at the end of 2006, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said on January 16 as reported by Dnevnik daily.
Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov sent a report to Stanishev on how the government's plan to prolong the life of the two reactors was being carried out. The plan had been accepted at the beginning of 2007. In order to re-open the two units, all other 26 EU member states would have to give their consent.
As far as the EC was concerned, the topic was closed. The reactors had to be closed and the decision was signed by all EU member states, including Bulgaria. For the EC there was no turning back, Ferran Terradellas, spokesperson of EC Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told Dnevnik daily on January 16. The EC was willing to help Bulgaria in drawing up its energy strategy, it green-lighted Belene NPP and supported all kinds of other initiatives and appeals for energy efficiency, but did not want to talk about Kozloduy, Terradellas commented.
Minister Petar Dimitrov pointed out that the reactors could be opened in case of an emergency, if the country was in crisis, after permission from the EC Energy Commissioner.
Talks were currently being held with international companies to take on the lease of the two units in exchange for lobbying and political support for their re-opening, Stanishev said. The idea was that a foreign partner would restore the reactors and then split the profit with the state.
According to information from Dnevnik daily, British BNFL and Canadian private company Bruce Power were the foreign partners referred to. The Canadian company was involved in similar projects and in 2009 and 2010 would re-start two restored reactors in Canada.
Energy experts said that variants were being discussed for private companies to mange units 5 and 6 of Kozloduy, which still operate. Candidates would have to provide a bank deposit of 500 million euro, which was equal to the compensation Bulgaria received from the EU for decommissioning the four smaller units. From this compensation, around 300 million had already been spent.
If the plan to re-open the two units would succeed, the compensation money would have to be returned to the EU.
The Energy and Economy Ministry said it would create a clear and transparent procedure for the selection of candidates.
Meanwhile Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov and leader of Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), who was on a visit to Paris, accused Stanishev at a press conference of plagiarism. "We've been working to create a strong European lobby here for three days," Borissov said. "Instead of being applauded for our activities, we now hear that those who closed the units, have decided to copy us and come up with the idea to announce it on a press-conference on the same day as our press conference," Focus news agency quoted Borissov as saying.
"If we say that tomorrow we are going to jump off the tenth floor I would not be surprised if Stanishev gave a press conference that they had already jumped," Borissov said.
According to Borissov it had not been the first time that ideas of GERB had been used by others and that because of this, he had asked his colleagues to take the party programme off the internet site, Focus news agency said.
