Westinghouse Announces Exclusive MOU With Czech Firm Metrostav

PRAGUE, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company today announces the signing of an important and exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Czech company Metrostav a.s., in preparation for the potential construction of Westinghouse AP1000® nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic.

According to the agreement, Westinghouse and Metrostav will work together exclusively on areas of the development and submittal of the Westinghouse submission to CEZ for the completion of the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant based on AP1000 reactor technology. The MOU covers key aspects of the construction and project management scope for the project.

The agreement marks yet another milestone in Westinghouse's continuing activities to develop and subsequently deliver a valuable proposal to CEZ, for the construction of the AP1000 nuclear power plant at the Temelin site in the South Bohemian region of the country. It follows a similar exclusive MOU signed earlier with I&C Energo, and a non-exclusive MOU with Vitkovice a.s, both of them Czech companies.

Speaking for Westinghouse, the company's President for the Europe, Middle East & Africa region, Yves Brachet said:

"It gives me great pleasure to announce this exclusive agreement with another highly-respected and immensely capable Czech company. As we prepare to submit a formal proposal to CEZ this year for completion of the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant, it can clearly be seen that we are taking a series of important steps to make sure we have key elements of our delivery team and our supply chain in place to ensure that the project will be a success.

Furthermore, while the government and CEZ have declared that localization cannot be a criteria in selecting the technology vendor in the tender process due to Czech and EU law, localization is at the heart of our approach to new nuclear plant construction. That is why we have the policy of "We Buy Where We Build" and this announcement is yet another demonstration of that approach in action."

Pavel Pilat, Metrostav a.s. Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Executing Officer said:

"The Temelin project undoubtedly represents an immense opportunity for the Czech industry as well as for Metrostav. I am very pleased indeed to announce signing of this Memorandum with Westinghouse, the world leader in nuclear technology. I strongly believe that by joining our efforts with Westinghouse we can form a powerful team that will be successful in this tender."

Notes for Editors:

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world.  Westinghouse supplied the world's first PWR in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa.  Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants.

The Westinghouse AP1000 reactor received Final Design Certification from the US regulator – the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – on 22 December 2011. The previous week, the AP1000 was awarded Interim approvals in the UK Generic Design Assessment process by UK safety and environmental regulators. AP1000 is one of two designs currently being considered for potential new nuclear build in Britain. Contracts have been placed around the world for a total of ten AP1000 plants to date – 4 in China and 6 in the US. All four Chinese plants are under construction and remain on schedule, with the first plant, at Sanmen in China, on track to produce electricity in 2013.

Metrostav, a member of the international DDM Group, has more than 40 years of experience both on the Czech construction market and abroad. With a yearly turnover of 34.5 billion CZK ($ 1.8 billion) in 2010, DDM Group ranks among the largest and the most stable construction groups on the construction market. Apart from its highly professional work on the Prague Metro, Metrostav as a versatile construction company operates in underground, road construction, public buildings, residential, industrial, renovation of historical buildings and power engineering sectors. In this technically and technologically demanding sector, Metrostav has completed and is currently working on a number of coal and gas power plant projects as well as many smaller scale hydro power plants.

For more information on Westinghouse, visit:
http://www.westinghousenuclear.com

For more information on the AP1000 reactor, visit:
http://ap1000.westinghousenuclear.com

For more information on Metrostav, visit:
http://www.metrostav.cz

SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company