CEZ Group

Currently, the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant is the biggest source of the power generating company, CEZ, a.s. It is also the only nuclear power plant operated in the Czech Republic. Although the design solution of the power plant comes from the seventies, it has been modernized and reaches very good results that put it into the first quarter of the world's power plants.

The process lasting for several months of preparation for the five-year, syndicated guaranty amounting to EUR 85 million in favor of the European Investment Bank (EIB) was completed this 28th April by ceremonial execution. The guaranty's arranger was The Sumitomo Bank, Limited, Japan. The annual guaranty fee will be 0.55 %. In addition to the Sumitomo Bank, Limited, the guaranty involves seven other banks.

The Board of Directors of CEZ decided at its irregular meeting on this 26th April to revoke CEZ General Manager Mr. Stanislav Svoboda. The current Executive Director for Economy Mr. Petr Voboril was appointed to manage the company pending the regular general meeting.

"CEZ has generated for the first quarter of this year the profits after taxes amounting to CZK 2,937 million, i.e. more by 268 % compared with the preceding year. This considerable growth is due mainly to the favorable development of provisions for exchange-rate variances. Whereas the development of the rate of exchange decreased in the first quarter of the last year our net profits by CZK 1.6 billion..."

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.

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.

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.

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.

This Friday, on 10th March 2000, a first complex emergency practice took place at Temelin nuclear power plant. In 0633 hours, a situation associated with the leakage between the primary and the secondary circuits in the first unit was simulated and the shift engineer called a technical emergency in the first degree.

State exams of Temelin NPP operators started today. The exams will take place until 23rd March 2000. Total of 41 NPP workers in positions of primary and secondary circuit operators, heads of unit control rooms, heads of the reactor unit and shift engineers will sit for the exams.