The Energy Committee of the Council endorsed amendments to the bill concerning the purchase of reactors for the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria.

These reactors were purchased by the Bulgarians from the Russians.

https://mind.ua/news/20284002-energokomitet-radi-pidtrimav-pravki-do-zakonoproektu-shchodo-kupivli-reaktoriv-dlya-haes-u-bolgariyi2025-01-17 07:19:55

The Energy and Utilities Committee of the Verkhovna Rada has endorsed amendments to bill No. 11392, which would allow the state enterprise "Energoatom" to purchase reactors from Bulgaria for the construction of units No. 3 and No. 4 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant.

This was reported by the specialized publication ExPro.

Bill No. 11392 passed its first reading in August. It proposed amendments to laws concerning the electricity market. For the second reading, the committee suggests replacing the text of the bill.

"There is amendment 267, which removes the text after the first reading, rendering the bill textless and without amendments. Additionally, there is amendment 268, which has been circulated. The essence of this amendment is that there are ongoing negotiations with the Bulgarian side, who stated that a decision must be made by March 12, as the permit is valid until that time," it was stated during the meeting.

In 2006, Russia's "Atomstroyexport" won a tender to construct two power units at the "Belene" NPP in Bulgaria. However, the project was halted a few years later.

Investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov writes that Bulgaria abandoned the construction of a nuclear power plant that would operate on Russian fuel in 2012, as it would mean further dependency on the Kremlin. According to the journalist, Ukrainian energy officials are negotiating with the Bulgarians to purchase these reactors for at least $600 million. The amount may increase, as the sellers are already conducting a reassessment.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that the energy committee supported bill No. 11146 regarding the placement, design, and construction of units No. 3 and No. 4 of the Khmelnytskyi NPP back in April 2024. However, the project has yet to reach the session hall.

For more details, see the Mind article “What’s wrong with the bill on completing the Khmelnytskyi NPP?”