Press releases pg. 189

The power-generation company CEZ had established in the end of the last year its daughter joint-stock company CEZTel to operate a digital communication network built during the nineties for the needs of the power engineering sector.

With the aim to provide for the largest in its history and, regarding the price, the most efficient resource of CEZ current financing, a P/Ns Program had been set up last March amounting to CZK five billion for the period of three years. Recently the P/Ns Program has been increased up to the total volume of CZK nine billion.

Simultaneously with desulphurization of its power plants, the power-generation company CEZ has been paying its attention also to other areas of protection of the environment, i.e. the use of waste. Almost a half of energy by-products were used last year as secondary materials, and CEZ intends to even increase the percentage.

On Sunday 2nd April 2000 in the afternoon, hot tests of the first unit at Temelin nuclear power plant were completed after 37 days of duration by the final cooling of the primary circuit. The tests were one of the most important parts of NPP non-active start-up. The tests verified the functionality of devices at operating parameters (temperature of water in the primary circuit 300°C, pressure 15.7Mpa) without the fuel charged in the reactor.