October 30 (SeeNews) - Nuclearelectrica [BSE:SNN], the operator of Romania's sole nuclear power plant (NPP) Cernavoda, said on Monday it has established a Refurbishment Division for one of its units.
The division, made up of company specialists, is headed by Romeo Urjan, technical and nuclear safety division manager at Nuclearelectrica, the company said in a press release.
The number of specialists will increase in direct correlation with the development of the refurbishment programme of Cernavoda's Unit 1. The establishment of the division represents a first step towards the implementation of the first phase of the programme
This first phase will be carried out in milestones until the end of 2021 and includes extension of the number of operating hours of the unit beyond the 210,000 hours of designed operation at nominal power and the completion of a feasibility study.
"Such a major investment project requires in the first instance an extremely well prepared internal structure, with highly qualified personnel, to manage the complex technical aspects within budget and on time, as per the refurbishment strategy," Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita said.
"Currently, the refurbishment of Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 is the most complex investment project of Romania and the specific strictness of the nuclear industry must be doubled by a highly efficient internal organizational structure," the CEO added.
At the end of August, Nuclearelectrica named Cosmin Ghita as interim CEO for four months, to replace Daniela Lulache whose mandate expired and could not be extended.
Ghita, 28, was nominated for the position of CEO by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee within Nuclearelectrica's board of directors, the company said late on Thursday in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Since June, Ghita is also the president of the administration council of Romania's National Uranium Company (CNU).
Nuclearelectrica's first-half net profit soared to 133.7 million lei ($34.2 million/29.2 million euro) from 1.73 million lei in the year-ago period driven by increased electricity output and sales. Its electricity sales generated revenues of 869.7 million lei in the first half, up 20% year-on-year.
The Cernavoda power plant, located in southeastern Romania, has two units of 700 megawatts each, which cover roughly a fifth of the country's power needs.
In February, Romania's energy ministry said that it intends to speed up negotiations with China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) on the construction of reactors 3 and 4 of Cernavoda NPP. The negotiations with CGN were extended three times last year.
In December 2015, Nuclearelectrica said it expects to set up a joint venture with CGN in 2016 and begin the construction of a pair of new units at the power plant, a project estimated to cost 6 billion euro ($6.5 billion) at the time, in two to three years. Under the memorandum of understanding on the project, the Chinese investor will hold a stake of at least 51% of the joint venture company that will do the job, while Nuclearelectrica will own at least 30%.
Nuclearelectrica shares traded 0.28% higher at 7.19 lei by 1108 CET on the Bucharest bourse.
The energy ministry holds a 82.4% stake in Nuclearelectrica.
(1 euro =4.5980 Romanian lei)