"Energoatom" ordered equipment for nuclear fuel storage worth UAH 7.8 billion without tenders

JSC "NNEGC "Energoatom" signed a contract with the American corporation Holtec International for the supply of spent nuclear fuel storage systems worth $175.07 million, or about UAH 7.8 billion. The procurement was carried out without competitive tenders, and detailed equipment prices were classified as "commercial secret".

This was reported by "Nashi Groshi" with reference to Prozorro system data.

The contract with Holtec International was signed on August 27. The American manufacturer is to supply by November 30, 2030, 41 spent nuclear fuel storage systems for the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility of Ukrainian NPPs with VVER-1000 reactors.

The full contract terms and the cost of individual pieces of equipment are not published, as the respective information is marked as "commercial secret".

Why the contract was signed without tenders

"Energoatom" justified the non-competitive procurement by the absence of competition for technical reasons. The Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility was created using Holtec International's technology for loading, transporting, and storing fuel.

The CSFSF project involves the use of containers and systems specifically of this technology. The technical specifications of the relevant equipment were developed by Holtec International and agreed with the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine.

According to the customer's explanation, timely supply of new systems is necessary to prevent delays in removal of spent fuel from Ukrainian nuclear power plants to the centralized storage facility.

The CSFSF is used for storage of spent fuel from Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine NPPs. Thanks to the establishment of its own storage facility, Ukraine abandoned the practice of exporting such fuel for storage to Russia.

Based on materials from: Nashi Groshi