Import substitution in Bulgarian did not work out: the NPP reactor malfunctions without a part from Russia

This winter, the sixth unit of the Bulgarian Kozloduy NPP has stopped for the second time. The reason was the Bulgarian import substitution. The station began to use an analogue of the membrane for superheater separators, but unlike the Russian original, it does not allow the reactor to operate stably.

In December, the sixth unit of the Kozloduy NPP was returned from repair, and since then the reactor has had to be stopped three times. It is in shutdown mode and now. The reason was the use by the station of analogues of Russian parts that are used in the equipment — safety devices with a bursting membrane MPURS-250−16 for separators-superheaters SPP-1000.

The scandal reached the point that the director of the NPP Ivan Andreev was summoned to parliament, and the case was handled by the country's Prosecutor General's Office.

"The deputies heard Ivan Andreev on "possible violations of the regulatory framework related to the modification of design equipment and the use of non-certified components at the Kozloduy NPP, which led to the need for three extraordinary shutdowns of the 6th unit, creating a risk to the energy and national security of the Republic of Bulgaria and incurring losses of tens of millions of euros"", — Vesti reports.

The director of the NPP told the deputies that the station is doing everything possible to find an alternative technical solution, as there are difficulties with the supply of devices from Russia.

Earlier, in early February, the Bulgarian government allowed the Kozloduy NPP to continue purchasing the necessary equipment in Russia can sign both old contracts and new ones.