Bulgaria’s caretaker government, as an exception to the sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation, is to allow deliveries of original spare parts from Russia for repairs to the Kozloduy NPP, according to caretaker Energy Minister Traicho Traikov.
Currently, Kozloduy NPP operates two Soviet-built VVER-1000 reactors (units 5&6). Bulgaria was obliged to close four older VVER-440 units as a condition for accession to the European Union, even though the units had undergone significant safety upgrades. In February 2024, Bulgaria and the US signed a formal agreement to collaborate on the construction of two new units at the Kozloduy NPP (7&8).
Unit 6 of the Kozloduy NPP was taken offline three times for the replacement of a defective rupture disk on the turbine’s moisture separator reheater, located in the conventional (non-nuclear) part of the unit – twice in December 2025 and again in February.
Traikov said the government has now allowed a derogation from the sanctions in ten procedures that will allow for timely requests and supplies of spare parts for current and planned reactor repairs and prevent future difficulties in the operation of the plant.
During the hearing in parliament NPP Director Ivan Andreev explained that plant management requested a derogation for imports of membranes from Russian producers in October 2024. However, the authorisation was delayed until May 2025 and the supplier requested an increase in price and an extension of the delivery time.
Kozloduy NPP therefore asked Bulgarian company Atomenergoremont to make parts based on the drawings of the manufacturer, but they were substandard and needed replacing again. The company again provided these parts, but this time them with original Russian steel.
“Thank God, after the last repair, it is working at full power without a problem, but to avoid the repetition of such events in the future, we have approved early enough imports of original parts from Russia… so that things can happen calmly according to plan,” Traikov said.
Previously, the at the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy estimated the damage from the three incidents that closed the unit at tens of millions of euros. Due to the temporary shutdowns, about 200 GWh of electricity were not produced.
The Minister has now appointed a commission to investigate the procedural and technical problems, which did not affect safety but resulted in large economic losses.
