Bulgaria begins construction of new nuclear plant
SOFIA, BULGARIA - Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev has attended a ceremony to launch construction of the country's second nuclear power station.
The Belene plant on the Danube River will compensate for the closure of two units at the existing Kozlodui plant. State-owned NEK power utility says Belene's two 1000-megawatt reactors will be operational by 2014.
Russia's Atomstroyexport will be the main contractor, using France's Areva and Germany's Siemens as primary subcontractors.
NEK will retain control of Belene's operations with at least a 51 percent stake, while Bulgaria has already shortlisted Germany's RWE Power and Electrabel SA of Belgium as strategic investors.
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Hong Kong to expect electricity bills to rise 1 or 2 per cent
HONG KONG - Hong Kong customers have been asked to expect higher electricity bills next year, with a member of a government panel on energy policy anticipating an increase in tariffs of one or two per cent.
The environment minister, Wong Kam-sing, also hinted they should be prepared to dig deeper into their pockets for electricity in the wake of power companies needing to use more expensive but cleaner fuel to generate power in the future.
HK Electric supplies power to Hong Kong Island, Lamma Island and Ap Lei Chau. Photo: David Wong
The city’s two power companies, HK Electric and CLP Power,…
