National Assembly Approves Draft Decision to Sell Belene NPP Equipment
August 9, 2024 – The Committee on Energy in the National Assembly of Bulgaria adopted a draft decision to amend the Decision on assigning the Minister of Energy to conduct negotiations with the Minister of Energy of Ukraine or his representative for the purpose of selling equipment intended for the “Belene” NPP Project.
The draft decision extends the deadline for negotiations by 180 days from the date of entry into force. It also instructs the Minister of Energy to submit a report to the National Assembly following the conclusion of negotiations regarding the sale of the equipment.
The draft decision was adopted with 12 votes in favor and 4 against.
Background and Negotiations
The draft decision follows the July 6th decision of the National Assembly tasking the Minister of Energy to negotiate the sale of equipment for the Belene NPP project with Ukraine. The equipment, with a long production cycle, is owned by the National Electric Company.
The negotiations are subject to the following conditions:
The selling price cannot be lower than the amount Bulgaria paid for the equipment (approximately BGN 1.2 billion).
The negotiations must be completed within 60 days of the decision’s entry into force.
Technical Evaluation and Inspection
The draft decision also notes that:
A joint technical evaluation of the equipment was conducted by US experts in May 2024.
Discussions have been held to facilitate the potential participation of Ukrainian experts in the equipment inspection.
Next Steps
The draft decision will now be submitted to the National Assembly for final approval. Once approved, the Minister of Energy will initiate negotiations with Ukraine to finalize the sale of the equipment.