Electricity prices for businesses are reaching nearly €300 per megawatt-hour, making profitability extremely difficult for many companies. This was stated by Prof. Georgi Kaschiev, a nuclear physicist, former chairman of the Committee on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes and until recently chairman of the board of directors of Kozloduy NPP, on the Bulgaria, Europe and the World in Focus programme on FOCUS Radio.
According to Kaschiev, Bulgaria has sufficient electricity, but its price is already becoming a serious problem for businesses. He attributes the high prices to the wholesale trading model introduced by the European Commission.
“Ultimately, however, the price is determined by whoever offers the most expensive electricity. Everyone else is pegged to it,” Prof. Kaschiev explained.He gave the example of the electricity intended for households. According to him, Kozloduy NPP sells it at a price of just over €61 per megawatt-hour. When both units are operating, this amount could cover around 40% of household consumers’ consumption.
Criticism of nuclear policy
Kaschiev said that Bulgaria does not have a comprehensive nuclear programme. In his view, it should cover reactor operation, decommissioning and the management of radioactive waste.
According to him, the ruling authorities are focusing on plans to build new nuclear capacity instead of addressing existing problems. He described the positions on the Belene NPP project as inconsistent – from statements that the use of the available equipment would not continue to the idea of building the plant jointly with Ukraine and with European funding.
“There are no such funds or such financing. And if they really existed, what would be the point of sharing them with the Ukrainians?” the expert commented.The project for Units 7 and 8
Kaschiev also questioned the plans to build Units 7 and 8 at Kozloduy NPP. According to him, the project was launched without a sufficiently thorough analysis and professional preparation, while the decision to acquire an AP1000 reactor was taken at the initiative of MPs and the parliamentary energy committee.
He also expressed doubts about the project’s compliance with European and Bulgarian standards, pointing to this as one of the reasons why work on it is falling behind schedule.
According to him, the investment in the two new units is in the range of $30–34 billion and could increase further. Kaschiev links the risk of cost overruns to the difficulties in implementation, the limited capacity of local companies and corruption risks.
In his view, there is insufficient evidence that the country needs these particular new generating units. If additional generation is necessary, the potential of the existing Kozloduy NPP should be used first, Prof. Kaschiev believes.
Sources: focus-news.net