Kozloduy NPP shuts down Unit 6 for repair of steam generator

The shutdown, scheduled for April 15, was needed due to indications of coolant leak in the third steam generator, the power plant operator said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the technical issue has not led to deviations from normal radiation levels.

"Although the operation of the nuclear power can go on, a conservative decision has been taken to shut down the unit and carry out preventive and repair measures in order to ensure the necessary high safety and operational reliability of the nuclear power plant," the plant operator said.

The planned outage has been timed to be consistent with the availability of sufficient electricity supply in the country's energy system at this time of year, Kozloduy NPP added.

Unit 5, the plant's other operating 1,000-MW unit, is currently functioning in line with the production schedule.

Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant had technical issues with the cooling system of the third steam generator in late 2022, when it temporarily shut down the reactor to remove the non-nuclear technical glitch.