BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVED TO GIVE NEC 1.200 BILLION BGN FOR PAYMENT OVER CANCELLED NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT

Bulgaria’s government approved to allocate 1,200 billion BNG to assist the state-owned National Electricity company (NEC) to pay its liabilities to the Russian company Atomstroyexport for the production of 2 nuclear reactors for Belene nuclear power project, Bulgaria’s cabinet decided at a meeting on 20th of September.

The government lodged a draft law to Parliament. The draft is on the provision of assistance for the payment of NEC’s liabilities and subject to approval by the Parliament.

In June, the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration ordered Bulgaria to pay 620 million Euro for the whole equipment produced by Atomstroyexport for Belene nuclear power project, which was cancelled in 2012.

Bulgaria is prepared to pay the principal, which is about 560 million euro, but has appealed the interest. At the same time, since June, interest is accumulated to the amount of 1 million euro at every 3 days. Speaking after the cabinet's meeting, Bulgaria’s minister of energy Temenuzhka Petkova explained that the settlement of the debt was obligatory because otherwise every day of delay would lead to accumulation of more interest and there was a risk for the state-owned NEC to be declared insolvent.

"If NEC does not pay the amount ordered by the international arbitration court, this will have negative consequences not only for NEC itself, but the country’s entire energy system,” Petkova said.

“Should NEC fail to pay Atomstroyexport, the Russian company could ask that the Bulgarian utility is declared insolvent,“ she said.