November 2 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) is expected to complete testing procedures on its 1000-MW Unit 6 and reconnect it to the grid by the end of the week, caretaker energy minister Rosen Hristov said.
The reactor is in normal mode and there are no deviations from regular radioactive levels, Hristov said during a news conference broadcast by public TV BNT on Tuesday.
NPP Kozloduy shut down Unit 6, one of its two Russian-made operating units, on Saturday after a non-nuclear technical glitch occurred shortly after the reactor was restarted following planned maintenance.
"The multiple hypotheses on the cause of hydrogen leakage from the generator's cooling system have been reduced to a single one and the analysis points to a technical problem that is currently being fixed. There are seals in the system that are currently being replaced," Hristov explained. He added that this is the first time that such an issue has occurred as the seals are new but they are being dismantled and replaced at present.
Hristov also said that in the next few weeks the government plans to launch a tender to select a fresh nuclear fuel supplier that will not be connected to Russia. Deliveries of nuclear fuel from Russia are uncertain because of Moscow's current unwillingness to cooperate on a number of issues, so Bulgaria is looking to US and EU suppliers, Hristov noted.
Two companies, US Westinghouse and France's Framatome, have so far expressed active interest, according to Hristov. A clear commitment to the process of removal of spent nuclear fuel will be one of the key elements of the tender.
The Swedish division of Westinghouse and Framatome, which is majority owned by state-backed utility Electricite de France (EDF), are the only two non-Russian companies that produce nuclear fuel suitable for Kozloduy's VVER-1000 reactors.
Last week, Bulgaria's caretaker government repealed a decision by the previous administration related to the diversification of the supply of fresh nuclear fuel for the power plant. The cabinet argued that the move is intended to broaden the chances of selecting an alternative supplier to the current one, Russian nuclear fuel cycle company TVEL. However, the former energy minister in the previous government, Alexander Nikolov, criticised the decision as likely to keep Bulgaria under Russia's influence in nuclear energy.
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