The CEO of Kozloduy NPP, Ivan Andreev, has received amended licences for the operation of units 5&6 and the used fuel dry storage from Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) Chairman Tsanko Bachiyski. It was confirmed that the licences are not time-limited, in line with changes in national legislation implemented earlier this year.
The Safe Use of Nuclear Energy Act mandates a periodic security review at least every 10 years. The Kozloduy NPP said the summarised findings of periodic reviews will continue to be submitted to NRA for review and approval.
Unit 6, after planned maintenance outage in June, was reconnected to the national power grid in July. This outage was required due to detected faults in the oil system of a 24/400kV transformer, a non-nuclear component of the unit, and signs of a thermophore leak in a steam generator.
Unit 5, upon completing an annual refurbishment, had been reconnected to the national grid in June. RWFA-type cartridges, made by the US corporation Westinghouse as a component of the plant’s diversification programme, were installed in the unit’s reactor following NRA approval. Each annual scheduled refurbishment involves replacing a quarter of the reactor cartridges, indicating a four-year phased transition to the new nuclear fuel. Previously fuel for the NPP was supplied by Russia’s TVEL.
