Westinghouse CEO Arrives in Bulgaria

Westinghouse CEO Danny Roderick (R) can be seen here with Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski as the two met for talks on cooperation regarding the Kozloduy NPP in May 2013. Photo by BGNES

Westinghouse President and CEO Danny Roderick is in Bulgaria to meet government officials and energy sector representatives.

Reports by Mediapool and BGNES news websites, however, do not point an aim of his visit.

His visit comes less than a week after the outgoing cabinet failed to sign an agreement with the company on the construction of a new unit at the Kozloduy NPP.

A decision was due to be taken at the last Council of Ministers' session before the cabinet resignation, but was left to the next government, which would have to confirm commitment to the project.

The deal envisages that Westinghouse is to have a 30% stake in Unit 7 during the construction stage. Construction is expected to kick off in 2016, and the block is to be operational within five years.

Westinghouse came under the spotlight in Bulgaria after outgoing Economy Minister Dragomir Stoynev met company executives while on a working trip to the US.

Plans for cooperation on the reactor were then criticized as many argued the decision to hire a certain company as a subcontractor for the Unit 7 had been adopted in a non-transparent way.

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