News

On 17 January 2014, the new Regulations on the Structure and Activity of State Enterprise Radioactive Waste came into force, approved by the Minister of Economy and Energy – Dragomir Stoynev (promulgated in SG issue 5).

The update of one of the fundamental documents, on which SERAW organizes the management and implementation of its activities, was dictated mainly by the implementation of the Decommissioning Plan for the shutdown nuclear power units. In the course of its implementation the individual specialized activities have changed theirs specifics and volume – the need for human resources for the operation and maintenance of the facilities has decreased, while the work for the specialists involved in the dismantling activities has increased. This process was considered in the Technical Specification – an integral part of another Grant Agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (effective from 13 January 2014) through which the payroll and social insurances of the Units 1-4 workers* is financed. The new Agreement (Grant 48) does not stipulate a reduction in the number of specialists of the four Units, so emphasized the SERAW management, but only a change in the specifics of some sections’ work, depending on the dismantling progress. By Grant 48 the remuneration package of 650 people involved in the projects of KNPP Units 1-4 is provided also for 2014. The new Regulations provide for the merger of the two existing Specialized Divisions “Decommissioning – Kozloduy” (for Units 1 and 2) and “RAW Management – Units 3 and 4″. The two pairs of Units were separated due to the historical chronology of the shutdown and subsequent transfer to SERAW. Since this formal reason does no longer exist and on the other hand the Decommissioning Plan treats all four Units, conditions were established for their logical merger in one Specialized Division.

The Regulations on the Structure and Activity introduced some more structural changes in the enterprise. Through these Regulations the activities are split into two distinct areas – waste management and decommissioning – the main task of SERAW, and the complete administrative and financial support of the main task. The responsibility for their organization, management and control is assigned to the two Deputy Executive Directors, through whom the Executive Director shall implement SERAW’s first level management. Four distinct specialized divisions will operate within the structure of the enterprise, as well as five management divisions.

Based on the changes to the Regulations on the Structure and Activity, the staffing table of SERAW and all changes in job descriptions and employment contracts, required by the Labour Code, are to be updated.

The new revision of the Regulations deals with all modern trends to establish a modern and effective organizational culture, clear rules of communication, well-defined priorities and responsibilities for each section and for each employee.

* This is part of the Grant of the European Union to support the decommissioning process in Bulgaria as a compensation for the early closure of the 440 – MW Units. The funds are being released by the EBRD after explicit decisions during Contributors’ assemblies of the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund. The funding is realized through Grant Agreements for the approved projects that are to be signed by three parties – EBRD, MEE and SERAW. The project management and spending of the funds are made under the exclusive supervision of the European institutions.