Temelin will buy fissionable fuel from the Russion TVEL

The Russian company TVEL will become a new fissionable fuel supplier for Temelin Nuclear Power Plant from 2010. In that year the contract with the American firm Westinghouse expires. The contract of fissionable fuel supply for two VVER-1000 reactors of Temelin Nuclear Power Plant has been concluded by the representatives of CEZ, a.s. and the Russion corporation TVEL today. The contract has been signed by Jiri Borovec, Vice-Chairman of the Board and director of production division, and Daniel BeneĹˇ, Vice-Chairman of the Board and director of administration division, on behalf of CEZ and Anton Badenkov, deputy president of the company, on behalf of TVEL.

CEZ has chosen the new fissionable fuel supplier for Temelin in the tender, in which the present supplier, Westinghouse, took interest too. The contract secures fuel supplies for both units for future 10 years up until 2020. TVEL should supply about 400 tons of fuel within the term of the contract. The contract value amounts to several billions CZK.

The cooperation with TVEL as a fuel supplier is not a novelty. TVEL has been the fuel supplier to the other Czech nuclear power plant in Dukovany for many years.

Temelin Nuclear Power Plant has 163 fuel cassettes with total 92 tons of fuel in one reactor. Approximately ¼ of the fuel, i.e. 40 cassettes (23 tons of fuel), is replaced every year.

Czech nuclear power plants account for nearly 42 % of the electrical energy production in the Czech Republic. Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant and Temelin Nuclear Power Plant generated 24.7 TWh of electricity in 2005.

Ivana Vejvodova, Press Officer, CEZ, a.s.

17. 5. 2006