Minister of Energy Iva Petrova announced on the Bulgarian National Television that a decision has been made to construct a dike on the Danube River in the area of the Kozloduy NPP. The facility is expected to be between 250 and 300 meters long, and the working design is currently being prepared.
"The dike will likely be around 250 to 300 meters. This is a matter of design, and we are awaiting the results from the working project itself," Petrova clarified. According to her, the construction itself will take between 10 and 15 days.
Other options for ensuring water quantities for the plant's needs are also being examined, including transferring water from internal reservoirs. Preliminary studies for these options have already been completed. "We are not late with the measures taken. Interagency coordination has been in place for several weeks," the minister assured.
The situation remains complicated due to the critically low levels of the river, but a slight rise allows the operation of Unit 5 of the Kozloduy NPP to continue at a reduced capacity of 91.4 percent. According to BTA data, on Friday, the unit's capacity was reduced by about 120 megawatts due to extreme hydrological conditions – a measure applied for the first time in the plant's 52-year history.
Petrova added that the daily electricity consumption in the country is about 90,000 megawatt-hours, with a production of 131,000 megawatt-hours. "We export about 30,000 megawatt-hours," the energy minister added.