The People's Representative from “Vazrazhdane“ Yordan Todorov filed an official report to the Acting Chairman of the State Agency for “National Security“ (SANS) Denyo Denev regarding serious institutional violations and a potential corruption scheme threatening the nuclear safety of the “Kozloduy“ NPP.
The report contains specific facts and documents about the condition of the electric motors of the main circulation pumps (GCP) of units 5 and 6 – key facilities for the safe operation of nuclear reactors.
The reason for the signal is an official response from the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA), which claims that all 10 electric motors – 8 in operation and 2 in reserve, are in “operational condition“. However, Yordan Todorov has internal documentation, according to which the reserve units are faulty – with increased vibrations, mechanical damage and inability to repair. This means that in the event of an accident in any of the operated motors, the reactor unit will be shut down for an indefinite period. Combined with the expired operational resource of the rotors and stators, a real threat of a nuclear accident and a risk to national security is created.
It is particularly indicative that only a week after receiving this official response, the management of the “Kozloduy“ announces an urgent public procurement for a major overhaul of a rotor, and only the day before that, a technical specification for the supply of four new rotors was approved. According to Todorov, this represents an admission of a serious technical risk and an attempt to panic-strickenly conceal the truth, after the facts he publicly announced.
The signal also indicates an unjustified jump in repair prices, as between 2014 and 2025. the price of repairing a single rotor has increased by over 1700%, without any technical or market explanation.
It is also worrying that the technical specifications have been changed in recent years in a way that completely eliminates competition and paves the way for implementation only by specific companies that will eventually receive a power of attorney for representation from the Russian plant JSC “URALGIDROMASH“.
“Signing an exclusive power of attorney for representation allows an intermediary to acquire the equipment directly from the plant and resell it to the “Kozloduy“ NPP with a markup reaching tens to hundreds of times the factory price. This is one of the most used mechanisms for draining hundreds of millions from the state energy sector every year.“, Yordan Todorov also points out.
He insists that SANS check the real condition of the equipment, the communication between the NPP and the NRA, the methodology of public procurement and inflated prices, the preparation of technical specifications, possible agreements on representation and the actions of specific officials.
“The concealment of critical technical risks, the manipulation of public procurement and the draining of millions from our state energy sector are crimes that must not remain without consequences. Such an attitude is a direct threat to the people and the national security of the state.“, Yordan Todorov stated.