Energy minister inspects key Chaira pumped-storage plant after repairs

Following the completion of repairs and final pre-commissioning and start-up tests, Energy Minister Traycho Traykov will inspect the functionality of unit 3 at the Chaira pumped-storage hydropower plant.

Unit 3 will operate in test mode until it receives Act 16, the formal permit for commissioning.

Completed in the late 1990s to help balance the power system, the pumped-storage plant is located in the Rila Mountains below the Belmeken reservoir. It is the largest underground power plant in the Balkans and has four pump-turbine units. The facility was shut down in 2022 and has been undergoing rehabilitation since.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova