TVO Wants ‘Detailed Information’ About Areva Restructuring And Possible Impact On Olkiluoto-3

TVO said it “urgently requires this information” with a view to securing assurances that all necessary financial and other resources, particularly related to the EPR technology, will be allocated to the completion and long-term operation of Olkiluoto-3.

“This information from the plant supplier and commitment of the technology vendor is a prerequisite for TVO’s consent for the changes impacting the project,” the statement said, without specifying what changes it was referring to.

Earlier this month, French state-controlled power utility EDF signed an agreement to buy Areva’s nuclear reactor unit as part of a rescue package for Areva agreed earlier this year.

TVO said: “Stripped of its nuclear plant technology-related operations and knowhow, Areva may not be adequately funded and resourced when its technical expertise and vital human resources are being transferred to the so-called ‘New Areva NP’, which is expected to be bought by EDF.”

TVO said it acknowledged the need for restructuring, but expects that all supplier liabilities towards TVO are “respected and covered in a responsible manner to the extent they are based on the plant contract”.

The separation of project ownership from the resources needed for the completion and commissioning of OL3 EPR is not responsible behaviour from a nuclear technology vendor, TVO said.

In the statement, TVO president and chief executive officer Jarmo Tanhua said Olkiluoto-3 must be given an equal position with other EPR projects supplied by the French nuclear industry.

The Olkiluoto-3 EPR was procured as a fixed-price turnkey project from a supplier consortium formed by Areva GmbH, AREVA NP SAS and Siemens AG, for delivery in the spring of 2009.

TVO said that according to the current supplier schedule, regular electricity production from the unit will begin at the end of 2018, nine years behind the original schedule.