Bulgaria's outgoing parliament confirmed on Wednesday an earlier decision abandoning plans for a new nuclear power plant, after a referendum forced a review of the issue.
A total 114 lawmakers out of the 154 present supported the decision to definitively halt plans for a new 2,000-megawatt facility at Belene on the Danube, while 40 voted against the termination.
At the same time, parliament called for speeding up procedures to extend the lifespan of two operational 1,000-megawatt reactors at Bulgaria's sole nuclear plant at Kozloduy, and backed preliminary plans to add a new unit there.
Bulgarians voted in a referendum in January on whether they wanted a second nuclear power plant and the level of turnout required parliament to review the issue, although it had already previously chosen to end the project.
Parliament was to be dissolved by the end of the week after Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's government tabled a shock resignation last week following massive and at-times violent street rallies over high electricity bills and growing poverty.
In the wake of these protests, lawmakers also adopted changes to the country's energy law Wednesday, allowing the state energy regulator to review electricity prices more than once a year, opening the way for possibly lower prices from next month to calm street tensions.
Snap elections are expected between end-April and mid-May with experts already saying that a new legislature will be free to put Belene back on the table at any time.
