12 companies show interest in Belene nuclear power plant project

12 companies have submitted documents for participation in Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project.

The only country that wants to buy electricity from the future power plant is North Macedonia, the Ministry of Energy said.

The companies had three options to apply for the construction of Belene NPP - as a strategic investor, as a minority shareholder and as a company that will buy electricity from the future plant.

7 companies have applied for strategic investor: IPK and UP - registered in Kozloduy, Rosatom from Russia, Korean Hydro-Atomic Corporation, China Nuclear Corporation, Bektrom, Consortium Belene Power Plant 2019, which is registered in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Belene NPP Consortium.

Candidates for the equipment supplier are the French "Framatome" and the American "General Electric".

Applicants for the purchase of electricity from Belene are European Trade Energy Bulgaria, Grand Energy Distribution, Atomenergoremont and the Republic of Northern Macedonia.

Each of the bids will be evaluated by a commission with the Ministry of Energy. It is headed by BEH Executive Director Jacqueline Cohen. The Commission will have 90 days to short list the candidates, with which the negotiations will be held.

Temenuzhka Petkova, Minister of Energy, said that each step within this procedure for the implementation of Belene NPP project will be coordinated and approved accordingly by the Bulgarian Parliament. I believe that the Bulgarian Energy Holding, the Ministry of Energy and the National Electricity Company have the experts and the necessary capacity to make a comparison between what is required in the procedure and what the candidates have presented.

The deadline for selecting an investor is May 22, 2020. However, the deadline is optional, the Energy Minister stressed.