By purchasing from CEZ its share in the completion of the Bohunice nuclear power plant

Rosatom has a chance to get a share in the owner of a European nuclear power plant. The Czech CEZ has put up for sale its 49% stake in the operator of the project for the construction of the fifth unit of the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant, Czech media report. According to their information, Rosatom is interested in it, which will acquire a share by the end of winter. The value of the share is estimated at €110 million, and by agreement of the shareholders it gives the owner management control over the project. Currently, the state corporation outside Russia only has a share in the construction operator of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey.

Yesterday, Czech media reported that Rosatom could buy from the Czech CEZ a stake in the operator of the construction of the fifth power unit of the Slovak nuclear power plant Jaslovské Bohunice. Rosatom is interested in buying a share, they report. Information about this was confirmed to the iDNES portal by two high-ranking sources close to the companies.

We are talking about the special company Jaderne energeticke spolecnosti Slovenska (JESS), created in 2011 as a joint venture of the Slovak state company JAVYS as (51%) and CEZ Bohunice as (49%) to implement the construction of a new unit of the Bohunice nuclear power plant. By agreement of the partners, CEZ holds management control in JESS. JESS is currently in the process of assessing the feasibility study and preparing for the pre-implementation phase of the project, which is scheduled to begin in January. Completion of work is scheduled for 2025.

CEZ plans to sell its share in the project by the end of winter, writes iDNES. According to the publication, the value of the share is about €110 million (this is the size of CEZ’s contribution to the capital of the joint venture). CEZ neither confirms nor denies either the offer of a share for sale or the interest of Rosatom. Rusatom Overseas (manages the state corporation's foreign projects) declined to comment. However, the day before yesterday, Rusatom Overseas announced the opening of a branch in Slovakia to develop cooperation on the completion of the third and fourth power units of the Mochovce NPP “and possible cooperation in the construction of the fifth power unit of the Bohunice NPP.” It was headed by Denisa Volekova. She, iDNES points out, came from the mergers and acquisitions department of CEZ, where she was actively involved in the Bohunice NPP project.

Rosatom does not yet have shares in foreign nuclear power plants. The state corporation is participating in the Akkuyu nuclear power plant construction project in Turkey in approximately the same way as in Slovakia, but in a consortium only with Russian partners. This nuclear power plant is planned to be commissioned several years earlier than the Slovak one.

Slovakia is a country heavily dependent on nuclear power, which accounted for 55% of electricity generation in 2011, covering 53% of demand. There are currently four power units operating in Slovakia: the third and fourth units of the Bohunice NPP and two units of the Mochovce NPP, all of Russian design. The country was forced to decommission the first and second units of the Bohunice nuclear power plant ahead of schedule in 2006 and 2008 as part of the country’s accession to the EU (now the country insists on increasing compensation for this fourfold - up to €400 million). After their withdrawal, the country became an importer of electricity, and the withdrawal of the second unit, which overlapped with another gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine, put the country on the brink of a “total blackout.”

The deficit of domestic electricity production, however, is gradually decreasing: the country ended 2011 with a minimal deficit (727 GWh with 29 TWh of consumption), and this year it is expected to reach a balance. According to official forecasts, says Pavel Ševera from the Slovak VUJE as, by 2017 the country will have about 18 TWh of export potential. Slovakia intends to actively develop nuclear generation, entrusting thermal power plants with the function of regulating the energy system. According to government plans, by 2020, nuclear power plants will produce 80% of electricity in Slovakia without CO2 emissions. The country is already building two units at the Mochovce nuclear power plant using Russian technologies with VVER-440 reactors, which are planned to be put into operation in 2015; Rosatom is completing the construction.

Natalya Skorlygina

Rosatom will replace the Czech Republic in Slovakia