A procurement procedure with a preliminary invitation to participate has been initiated to ensure the current annual maintenance of the nuclear power units at the Kozloduy NPP in 2026. This was stated by the Executive Director of Kozloduy NPP, Ivan Andreev, at a hearing in Parliament.
The announcement of the public procurement is based on the current internal rules and instructions of Kozloduy NPP and has passed all levels of approval and coordination, he said. Andreev pointed out that the public procurement is for two separate positions and its initial estimated value is over 71 million euros. The procedure was opened with a decision from February 18, 2026. He announced that after the decision to approve changes in the terms of the announced procedure, the estimated value is 65 million euros.
“The total lost benefits (note from the editor: from the shutdowns due to membranes) is 28 million at stock market prices, at the NPP - 13 million, and a large part will be compensated at the expense of the extended campaign due to the reduced capacity,” said Andreev in response to a question from “We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria”.
The membranes, after they could not be supplied by a manufacturer from the Russian Federation, were produced according to our requirements by the company “Atomenergoreмонт” based on drawings, which relate to the parts that were delivered to us during the year and according to a calculation method, he explained. Even with original membranes, there are many shutdowns that have occurred with other power plants, including in Russia, said Andreev. He pointed out that there will be a penalty under the contract with “Atomenergoreмонт” for the production of these membranes, but it is not of such a large amount.
Andreev also said that the first shutdowns of Unit 6 with the third steam generator were in 2022. He noted that in previous years the unit operated at 104%, and in recent years Unit 6 has not been loaded due to problems with the third steam generator. He noted that the units are now almost 40 years old, the maintenance must be very good, and we have recommendations that the steam generators should operate in a very gentle mode.