News

On 9 October 2020, a videoconference meeting of the Monitoring Committee for implementation of the Kozloduy NPP Units 1 to 4 Decommissioning Programme was held.

In accordance with Council Regulation of the European Union on the provision of grant funds to Bulgaria in the process of decommissioning of nuclear facilities* and the applicable procedures**, the implementation of activities which are financed by the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF), shall be subject to regular monitoring. In accordance with the current rules, the Decommissioning Programme progress shall be monitored every six months in several successive steps. SERAW drafts a Monitoring Report presenting the implementation of the planned activities for the respective period, which is reviewed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and submitted to Directorate-General for Energy (ENER) of the European Commission (EC). This is followed by on-the-spot visit to the Kozloduy site by representatives of the European Commission in order to directly monitor implementation of the activities specified in the document. The procedure ends with a final meeting of the Committee at which the results of the monitoring are summarized and the Monitoring Report is accordingly approved.

The meeting of the Monitoring Committee for the first half of 2020 was preceded by a visit in the period 1-2 October 2020 by representatives of the European Commission to SERAW’s facilities at Kozloduy site. Jean-Philippe Guisset, Head of Sector – Decommissioning and Carlos Alvarez Aguilera, Policy Officer from DG Energy, got acquainted on the spot with the current status of the project for construction of Phase I of the National Disposal Facility for low- and intermediate level RAW (NDF) and the measures related to the implementation and maintenance of the highest safety standards and culture during the whole project duration. They also visited the Controlled Area of Units 1 to 4, currently under decommissioning, and paid special attention to the two new facilities: Size Reduction and Decontamination Workshop (SRDW) and Plasma Melting Facility (PMF).

The meeting, held on 9 October 2020, was co-chaired by Massimo Garribba, Deputy Director-General for DG Energy of the EC, in charge of Directorates “Nuclear Energy, Safety and ITER” and “Euratom safeguards”, and by the Deputy Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov, as a Programme Coordinator for the Kozloduy NPP Units 1 to 4 Decommissioning Programme. Balthasar Lindauer and Valentin Seider, respectively Director of Nuclear Safety Department and Associate Director – Head of KIDSF at EBRD, as well as experts from the Ministry of Energy and SERAW, took part in the meeting.

The risk associated with COVID-19 pandemic and continuation of applying effective measures to minimize possible delays during implementation of the Programme were discussed during the meeting. The participants in the meeting highlighted the fact that pursuant to Order No. Е РД-16-138/16.03.2020 by the Minister of Energy, SERAW has introduced effective measures to prevent the spread of COVID 19 among employees in order to maintain continuation of activities. The main project achievements for the period were also reported during the meeting, namely: the successful completion in May 2020 of the second out of four operational campaigns of the PMF; advance in preparatory works for implementation of the project for Decontamination of the Primary Circuit of KNPP Units 1 to 4, where the experience and available equipment from the successfully completed decontamination of the Primary Circuit of two Units of V1 NPP under the Decommissioning Programme in Slovakia will be applied; establishing appropriate organization of work by all parties involved in the NDF Phase I construction process with adherence to the highest international safety standards and culture.

The Monitoring Committee participants on behalf of the EC and EBRD acknowledged the objectiveness of the report submitted by SERAW and expressed satisfaction with the results achieved during the Kozloduy Programme implementation.

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* COUNCIL REGULATION (EURATOM) No. 1368/2013
** COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION C(2019) 3073 of 26 April 2019