Boris Gabarayev, director general of NIKIET

— I am glad that we have won the tender for supply of fuel to Slovak NPPs

TVEL Corporation has won a tender to supply fuel to the Slovak nuclear power plants for a period till 2015, reports a source from the Slovak nuclear operator.

As a result, TVEL has made a contract for fuel deliveries to the five existing WWER-440 nuclear reactors of Mohovce and Bohunice NPPs and two new reactors of Mohovce NPP as soon as the latter are commissioned.

I am glad that we have won the tender for the supply of fuel to the Slovak nuclear power plants and I would like to congratulate TVEL Corporation on this victory. This success has proved that after a period of euphoria in their relations with the West and especially the Americans, the Eastern European countries are sobering up. The unsuccessful experience of use of the Westinghouse fuel at Russia-made reactors has shown that, as the proverb says, enough is as good as a feast. So, I am glad that they in Eastern Europe are beginning to see obvious things. 

In this light, I am really sorry for Ukraine, who is still trying to diversify its sources of nuclear fuel. Diversification is good, especially, in terms of economic independence and energy security. But this is not the case. You can import coal from any country so as to avoid dependence on one supplier. But nuclear fuel is a peculiar resource. It is an integral part of a reactor and it is very hard to produce fuel for a reactor designed by other country. In this particular case, in order to offer your fuel for such a reactor you have to predict all possible risks so as to show that your fuel will guarantee safety. The Americans hurried up and failed. I think that the defeat of Westinghouse will result in the closure of that company’s line for production of fuel for Russian WWER-440 reactors.

This is a mutually beneficial contract. Slovakia gets guaranteed long-term deliveries of nuclear fuel for its five operating reactors and the two new reactors it is building at Mohovce NPP. This is also very good for our plants and TVEL.