ČEZ sells 49% JESS stake to Slovakia's JAVYS for EUR189 million
Slovakia will hold 100% of JESS, set up in December 2009 to prepare new capacity near the Bohunice plant, Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
Key facts
- Stake valuation prepared by EY and confirmed by KPMG, per ČEZ
- US memorandum covers a state-owned American 1,200 MWe unit, per the State Department
- Five reactors supply more than half of Slovakia's electricity, with a sixth under commissioning
- Mochovce 4 expected at full power within months; unit 3 entered service in 2023
- Nuclear would equal 77.5% of Slovak electricity consumption with Mochovce 4 at full power
ČEZ sold its 49% stake in JESS to Slovakia's state-owned JAVYS for EUR189 million (USD211 million), the Czech company said on October 8. JESS (Jadrová energetická spoločnosť Slovenska) was established in December 2009 to prepare for new nuclear capacity in the vicinity of the existing Bohunice nuclear power plant.
ČEZ, which is majority Czech-state-owned, said new nuclear power plants are built under state direction worldwide, which is why the sale is being made. It said EY prepared the valuation of the stake and KPMG confirmed it.
Slovakia to hold 100% of JESS
Prime Minister Robert Fico, speaking after the signing of the agreement, said the Slovak Republic would acquire 100% of the company through its representatives, giving it all the documents and permits JESS holds and allowing it to accelerate construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Jaslovské Bohunice area.
Earlier this year Slovakia and the USA signed a memorandum of cooperation for what the US State Department said would be a "state-owned American 1,200 MWe nuclear unit". Fico said the project had been granted the status of a strategic investment.
Five reactors in operation, one in commissioning
Slovakia has five nuclear reactors generating more than half its electricity, with one more reactor under commissioning. The first two, at Bohunice, went into commercial operation in 1984 and 1985. Mochovce 1 and 2 were connected to the grid in 1998 and 1999.
Construction of Mochovce 3 and 4 began in 1986 but was halted in 1992, then restarted. Mochovce 3 entered service in 2023, with Mochovce 4 expected to be operating at full power within the next few months.
When Mochovce 4 is at full capacity, nuclear will be providing the equivalent of 77.5% of Slovakia's electricity consumption, the highest proportion for any country, even without the new unit at Bohunice.