Czech utility CEZ picks Western nuclear fuel suppliers to replace Russians

Brookfield Business Partners LP

12/04/2022 16:19

PRAGUE, April 12 (Reuters) - Czech power utility CEZ
 CEZP.PR  picked France's Framatome and U.S.-based Westinghouse
as nuclear fuel suppliers for its main nuclear plant for the
next 15 years, shunning a competing offer from Russia's TVEL
which had supplied the plant in the past years.
    The two companies will start delivering fuel to the
2,250-megawatt Temelin plant in 2024, and the contract is worth
"billions of crowns", the 70% state-owned CEZ said.
    TVEL, a subsidiary Russia's state-owned Rosatom, has been
supplying fuel for Temelin since 2010, when it replaced
Westinghouse.
    Framatome, controlled by EDF Group  EDF.PA , supplies 380
nuclear reactors worldwide, and U.S. nuclear reactor company
Westinghouse currently operates in 19 countries, CEZ said.
    Westinghouse  BBU_u.TO  is also one of the tree bidders for
a new unit at CEZ's other nuclear power plant in Dukovany. The
tender was launched in March after exclusion of Russian and
Chinese bidders for national security reasons.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2VK1JQ  
    TVEL still supplies fuel for the Dukovany plant, as the only
provider producing fuel for the reactors. 

 (Reporting by Robert Muller and Jan Lopatka; editing by David
Evans)
 ((robert.muller@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
robert.muller.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))