Slovakia is undergoing a major nuclear divorce. After some 16 years, the partnership of two brotherly nations in one nuclear power project is coming to an end. During the first government of Robert Fico, at the end of 2009, under the leadership of the then Minister of Economy Lubomir Jahnatek, the cabinet established the Nuclear Energy Company of Slovakia (JESS). The plan was to build a new nuclear power plant on the site of the „forcibly“ decommissioned V1 nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice. Since the Slovak government did not dare to take on the nuclear project on its own, it looked for a partner. On the basis of market research, it chose the Czech energy group CEZ as a strategic partner, which subsequently became a 49% shareholder in JESS. The remaining stake was retained by the State through the Nuclear and Decommissioning Company (JAVYS).
The current cabinet of Robert Fico has returned to the project of building a new nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice with great enthusiasm. However, it apparently no longer counts on the „brotherly“ help of the Czech energy industry. They should be replaced by the American company Westinghouse. Also selected on the basis of market research.
Czech energy group CEZ did not admit to leaving the planned nuclear project until a few months ago. Today, it does not seem to be resisting it very much anymore. The CEZ Group’s withdrawal from the new nuclear power plant project was confirmed to SITA Energetika by all parties involved. However, they did not want to disclose the details of the transaction for the time being.
„As negotiations in this regard are still ongoing, due to their confidential nature, the Ministry of Economy will not comment on them at this time,“ stated the spokeswoman of the Minister of Economy, Maria Pavlusik. „We are aware of the intentions of the Slovak government in the preparation of new nuclear power plants in Slovakia. Nowhere in the world can the construction of nuclear power plants be done without substantial involvement of the state, and CEZ as a co-owner of JESS, which owns the land and has already brought the project to an advanced stage, including permits, is very well aware of this. After all, the project to build new nuclear units in the Czech Republic also came under the state when CEZ sold a majority stake in the project company Elektrarna Dukovany II to the state,“ said CEZ spokesman Ladislav Kriz.
However, Prime Minister Fico points out that the Slovak Republic will be the sole owner of the new 1,250 megawatt nuclear power plant at a cost of roughly 13 to 15 billion euros.
