Price of Electricity from Kozloduy's Unit 7 Can Be 75 USD/MWh

Sofia, February 27 (BTA) - The price of electricity from Unit 7
of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant can be 75 US dollars/MWh,
according to calculations of the Westinghouse company. The
company presented its economic analysis at a discussion on
"Energy Security and Energy Diversification Potential: the
Kozloduy N-Plant Unit 7 Project" here on Friday.

The company says that this price would cover the costs on the
construction of Kozloduy's unit 7. The management of
Westinghouse is hopeful that the project will be approved by the
 Bulgarian government, so that it could begin with its
implementation. The financial structuring of the project will
take around three years as the earliest date, at which
production could start, is set at 2025.

Michael Kirst, Westinghouse Vice President for Strategy and
External Relations Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that the
 base price for the construction of the reactor alone is 5,300
million US dollars and this is the lowest possible price for
such projects. All other expenditures - for the building of
infrastructure and for financial expenditures - should be added
to this amount. One of the big factors for every long-term
project are namely the financial expenditures and the size of
the interests on the investments. According to Kirst, the moment
 is appropriate for investment given the record-low interests.

According to the Westinghouse analysis, if the economic growth
in the next years is below 2 per cent, the net current price of
the project will be 7,762 million US dollars without excluding
the decommissioning costs. Allocation of allowances for the
future decommissioning of the reactor will begin as soon the
nuclear reactor begins generating energy and since its shelf
life is 60 years this would not be a problem, Kirst commented
before journalists.

The price of electricity will be 75 US dollars/MWh upon the
beginning of the reactor's operation. Fuel and operational costs
 will be added to them. He stressed, however, that costs of
nuclear energy, unlike the other types of energy generation, are
 related mostly to the construction of the facility and not the
fuel price. Therefore, construction costs account for around 80
per cent of the price of electricity, generated from a nuclear
facility, while fuel and operational costs make up only 20 per
cent of it.

It is pointed out in the analysis that the nuclear energy has no
 alternative and that it remains the lowest compared to all
other productions. Kirst noted that, if Bulgaria does not take a
 decision on the construction of a new nuclear reactor, the
electricity price will be considerably higher in a few years'
time.

Asked whether Westinghouse demands any state guarantees for the
construction of unit 7, Kirst said that now the company wants to
 have the government's assurances that the project will be
implemented. The Government should exactly determine what it can
 and cannot do regarding the project and then the best financial
 scheme should be found. Taking a conclusive investment decision
 will take three years and, in the meantime, the necessary
regulatory regimes could be enacted, Kirst observed.