Fuel deal for South Africa

Friday, 6 August 2010

Eskom has signed an extension to a longstanding supply arrangement for enriched uranium with Tenex of Russia.

 

Medvedev and Zuma in Moscow

The deal covers a "significant share" of the requirements of the Koeberg nuclear power plant, which with two 921 MWe reactors supplies 5% of the South Africa's electricity.

 

Eskom also uses other suppliers of enriched uranium and in late 2009 contracted Westinghouse to manufacture this into finished reactor fuel for the period 2011-2015. Making the three reloads to cover that period is worth $30 million to Westinghouse, the company said at the time of the contract.

 

The new Tenex deal was said by the company to last "until the end of the next decade." It extends a relationship between Tenex and Eskom dating back over 15 years and will represent more than 10% of trade between Russia and South Africa.

 

The signing took place in Moscow yesterday during a visit by South African President Jacob Zuma, who was present, along with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, at the signing ceremony. The leaders also made agreements on plant quarantine and Earth observation.

 

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News