Bulgaria assesses Kozloduy NPP operations during Danube water crisis

Energy Minister of Bulgaria Iva Petrova will visit the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) on Tuesday, the Energy Ministry’s press centre said. The talks will focus on the current operation of Units 5 and 6, the impact of the low water level of the Danube River on the plant’s operation, and measures taken by the Energy Ministry to ensure the security of the electricity system.

She will be accompanied on the working visit by Energy Ministry experts and representatives of the management of Bulgarian Energy Holding and the Electricity System Operator.

A media briefing is scheduled to begin at around 2 p.m, CE Report quotes BTA.

On Sunday, the Energy Ministry said that the NPP’s two units continued to operate at their planned load despite record-low water levels in the Danube.

The Kozloduy NPP has taken measures to ensure the safe and reliable operation of its nuclear facilities due to record-low water levels in the Danube River, the plant said in response to a question from the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) last week.

So far, the low water level along the Bulgarian stretch of the river has hampered navigation and distrupted river shipping.

Against the backdrop of historically low Danube levels, Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Power Plant was shut down in an unprecedented move for safety reasons, while on July 31, the Romanian government of outgoing Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan declared a nationwide state of heightened readiness in the energy sector for the whole of August.

Due to the emergency situation, the Romanian military carried out a controlled explosion aimed at increasing the water flow available to the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant. Authorities in both Romania and Hungary called on major energy consumers to voluntarily reduce their consumption.

Serbia is also experiencing problems caused by the low water levels of the Danube. President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that authorities were taking steps to ensure the continued operation of the NIS refinery in Pancevo despite disruptions to river transport. The refinery relies on the Danube both for exporting fuel and for imports of petroleum products from regional refineries.

Photo: Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant