Alexander Nikolov, Executive Director of Kozloduy NPP: We hope to extend the life of the 5th and 6th units by another 30 years

- Mr. Nikolov, how are the stress tests conducted at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) proceeding? Can this facility serve as an example of safety in the region?
- After the accident at the Japanese Fukushima NPP, in mid-March this year, an assessment of the safety of all NPPs in the EU was initiated. The purpose of this is to check the state of NPPs in Europe and how they would react in such extreme situations. We prepared a preliminary report, which was submitted to the regulator in mid-August. I can say that our NPP is among the first in the ranking in Europe in terms of the safety, despite the fact that it has been operating for 25 years.

- Did the Government respond to your proposal for the construction of new units at the Kozloduy NPP?
- Last year, together with the Spanish Iberdrola company, we conducted a preliminary feasibility study on the possibility of building new nuclear power units at the Kozloduy NPP. The research confirmed the possibility of building one or two new units, aimed at replacing the suspended small reactors. But today, the energy sector in Bulgaria has to deal with the final decision on the Belene NPP and perhaps the decision for the construction of the 6th and 7th units should be postponed for a few years.

- When do you expect the consortium to state its opinion on the measures you should take?
- The deadline set in our tender dossiers is 18 months from the date of the signing of the contract. The fact is that in six years unit 5 of the Kozloduy NPP will be 30 years old and, a year earlier, we should have deposited with the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) documents that we want to extend the life of the generator. This means that we have five years to prepare for that. The consultants will be busy with the analysis for a year and a half and then we will be considering the results for five or six months. I believe that, in two years, we will have a vision of what we should do with the units and we should be able to fulfil the recommendations within the remaining three years.

- Is your request to extend the service life of the units by 20 rather than 10 years still in force?
- Our position has always been that the service life of the generators should be extended by 20+10 years but you know that this is not up to us alone. I expect we will be given an opportunity to request the extension of the service life of the units by 15 years. This does not necessarily mean that the generators will be decommissioned after that. A new evaluation should be made. I hope we will be given permission to extend their service life by 20 years.

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