Press releases pg. 15

Tonight, the Temelín Unit 1 began to produce electricity again. It was scheduled shut down for refueling from early December. The outage lasted 83 days and the energy technicians mastered it six days earlier against the schedule. Prior to achieving full power, the energy technicians are about to test the Unit at 80 percent of the rated power.

New measures taken by Temelín to protect the environment were checked by experts from international audit firm Det Norske Veritas in recent days. According to the auditors, Temelín protects the environment in compliance with new international standards that have been in effect since the beginning of this year. The Southern Bohemian nuclear power plant thus successfully defended its prestigious environmental certificate.

Cameras, seals, a range of protocols, and especially physical presence are the main surveillance tools of international inspectors when spent fuel is being relocated to storage. This weekend, checks in Temelín were completed by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Euratom, and the State Office for Nuclear Safety.

In accordance with the Updated National Energy Strategy, ČEZ is prepared to initiate the process of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the planned construction of new units in the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant. Therefore, the company has today submitted to the Ministry of the Environment all the documents required to launch the EIA process. This is the first step in the company’s effort to fulfill the National Action Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy to ensure the long-term energy self-sufficiency of the Czech Republic. The purpose of the EIA is to identify, describe and comprehensively assess foreseeable impacts of the planned projects on the environment and public health in the relevant context. The EIA is conducted in cases defined by law, always before all the requisite permits are obtained and before the actual project implementation begins. The European energy sector has been going through a period of significant changes and uncertainties, and ČEZ wants to be prepared for all options of future development.