Bulgaria on track to extend nuclear units' lifespan - deputy minister

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria has stepped up work to extend the lifespan of its two Soviet-made nuclear reactors by 30 years, its deputy energy minister said on Wednesday, as the Balkan country struggles to keep a lid on politically sensitive electricity costs. The Kozloduy plant, by the Danube river on the border with Romania, has two 1,000 megawatt reactors that produce about 35 percent of Bulgaria's electricity and is also one of the cheapest sources of power. "The extension of the lifespan of Units 5 and 6 at Kozloduy nuclear plant in line with EU safety standards is the main priority for our nuclear energy," the energy ministry quoted Nikolai Nikolov as saying at a forum in the Black Sea city of Varna. "Our expectations are that their lifespan will be extended by at least 30 years," he said. Bulgaria has launched a 360 million euro (262.43 million pounds) upgrade of the reactors to avoid another politically awkward jump in power prices. Protests over high utility bills toppled the first government of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov in 2013. Bulgaria plans to fully liberalise its electricity market as of next year, which experts say will result in higher energy prices due to high costs of renewable energy and long-term power purchase deals with U.S. thermal power plants. To renew the units' operational licences, which expire in 2017 and 2019 respectively for Unit 5 and Unit 6, the plant needs approval from the environment ministry and the state nuclear regulator. Under the plan, the reactors' capacity would be boosted to 104 percent, with upgrades that should be completed by 2016 for one of the units and by 2018 for the other. Bulgaria has hired a consortium led by Russia's Rosatom units Rosenergoatom and Rusatom Service and France's EDF to carry out the upgrades for Unit 5. Nikolov said more than 50 percent of the work for Unit 5 had been completed and he was sure the upgrade would be finished on time, adding that the Russian partners had declared their readiness to meet their obligations and work without delays. Earlier this year Sofia put on hold plans to build a new nuclear reactor at Kozloduy after failing to convince Westinghouse, part of Toshiba Corp, to become a strategic investor in the unit, estimated to cost $7.7 billion. (Reporting By Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Gareth Jones)