Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), which owns the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, is worried about the plant's finances because its profit is now small. BEH chief executive Andrey Zhivkov told parliament's energy committee about the concern.
He said there is no risk to nuclear safety or to the normal running of the plant.
Zhivkov appeared before the committee after a question from the DPS party about the plant's finances. In 2021 the plant made a profit of about 1bn a year. Zhivkov did not say how much it makes now, but noted that the reports are public.
He gave several reasons. The main one is that Kozloduy's revenue again goes into the Security of the Electricity System Fund. The fund pays the money out as compensation to non-household users, meaning firms and other customers that are not households. These payments were first introduced in 2021, and Zhivkov has taken part in the process since then. "Crisis situations – crisis measures," he said.
Zhivkov said money does move between the company New Capacities and Kozloduy, but as an overdraft, meaning temporary funds. "I think at the moment there are no debts," he added, speaking about the plant.
The BEH chief praised the training of the staff. He said they proved themselves this year, when the Danube fell to unprecedented lows. The plant's own design lists such levels as ones at which it must shut down. "It did not stop working. We got through this period and learned our lessons," Zhivkov said.
He said BEH, as owner, always presses for more revenue so the plant can run more normally. Zhivkov and energy minister Iva Petrova have discussed raising the revenue cap for Kozloduy, meaning the upper limit on the money the plant can keep.
The DPS is pressing for the projects for units 7 and 8 at Kozloduy to be sped up.