Pane Coone, is Westinghouse 100% convinced of its participation in the tender for the construction of a new unit in Dukovany?
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AWell, I can say that now that we have the documents available for security screening and also the preliminary tender documentation, we are very much looking forward to submitting a bid for the fifth block of Dukovany. As you know, we have a long common past with CEZ and the Czech Republic. We delivered the first control and monitoring systems for the Temelín power plant. And recently we also signed an excellent contract with ČEZ for the modernization of these systems – again in Temelín. So there is a long history of cooperation. And we believe that our AP1000 reactor would be of significant benefit to the Czech Republic.
And do you trust the Czech government and CEZ after they suddenly canceled the tender for the construction of two Temelín units in 2014, in which Westinghouse also participated?
We did very well in that tender at the time. I think our AP1000 reactor had the highest rating. So of course we were very disappointed. This time, however, we see a different way of cooperation between the Czech government and CEZ. They seem to be in harmony with each other. The first implementation agreement signed by the government and CEZ, which concerns cooperation on this project, gives this certainty to that cooperation. And representatives of the Czech government have also stated on many occasions that the government will play a significant role in the project. And that’s what is needed for such huge projects.
So no bitter feelings about the Temelín project remained in you?
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No, no bitter feelings. Certainly there is always uncertainty – especially in connection with elections and changing governments. But in the Czech Republic we generally feel very supportive of this project.
By the way, how much did Westinghouse invest in its preparations for the Temelín tender at that time?
I don’t have this number. But it was a significant amount.
The company has gone bankrupt since Westinghouse applied for the Temelín tender. Is she currently in such condition that she can handle such an important project?
I will try to explain a little about what happened then in connection with the bankruptcy. Westinghouse has had a number of contracts in the United States. One of the company’s main shareholders, essentially a partial owner of Westinghouse, was also very inexperienced in the construction of nuclear power plants. It led to bankruptcy – specifically under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Act. This basically means a reorganization that has allowed us to become an independent society. This happened a few years ago. Since then, we have been profitable and have no reason not to pursue a number of different contracts. We are still working in the United States. You must have heard about the agreements we have concluded in Poland and, more recently, in Ukraine. So, from my point of view, our ability to participate in the tender is completely without debate.
You are currently working on a security questionnaire that ČEZ sent to all three applicants. You have to submit it by the end of November. The Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček allegedly invited the applicants to send the document earlier, if possible. So when do you plan to complete it and hand it over to ČEZ?
We are actively working to complete the security questionnaire. It is very detailed. As for submission, we will meet the deadline set by ČEZ. The safety assessment examines, among other things, our planned supply chain. And now an important event is approaching – the supplier symposium, which will take place on October 11 and 12. This will help us answer some of CEZ’s questions from the questionnaire. So now we are dealing a lot with Czech industry so that we can involve local suppliers here in the Czech Republic.
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