Framatome has provided maintenance services for Sizewell B since 2008. The renewed long-term service agreement (LTSA) – extending through to 2040 – will see Framatome deliver a full scope of outage activities to meet the plant’s present and future low-carbon electricity production challenges, while maintaining high safety and performance standards.
“This 15-year contract will enable Sizewell B to benefit from Framatome’s global expertise in pressurised water reactors (PWRs) and in a scope of activities including reactor and steam generators services, maintenance of reactor coolant pumps and valves, non-destructive examinations, as well as supply chain coordination and global outage staff management,” Framatome said. “The agreement leverages Framatome’s six decades of worldwide expertise and teams based in the UK, supported by resources in France, Germany, and the US, optimising operations.”
“The renewal of our long-term service agreement with Framatome is built on mutual trust and a shared commitment to Sizewell B’s ambitions to excel in nuclear operation for the next decades,” said John Munro, Managing Director of EDF UK’s Nuclear Operations. “Sizewell B is hugely important for UK nuclear operations and for supporting our net-zero ambitions as we prepare for the forthcoming EPR nuclear reactors under construction at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.”
Guirec Maugat, Senior Executive Vice President of Framatome’s Installed Base Business Unit, said: “We are proud to confirm our partnership with EDF UK for Sizewell B, reinforcing our long-term vision for nuclear excellence in the UK. We will continue to support the plant operations by delivering flawless outages with high-level safety and quality expectations. We are committed to create, train and develop highly-skilled UK-based outage expert teams, combining local talents with Framatome’s international expertise, to support UK’s nuclear fleet for decades to come.”
Sizewell B is the UK’s only PWR, with an installed capacity of 1,198 MW. It came online in 1995, with an initial 40-year operating life to 2035. After terms were agreed in July this year by the UK government and operator EDF on financing to enable a 20-year lifetime extension, EDF will fund GBP800 million (USD1 billion) of refurbishment works to be carried out during planned outages over the next 15 years. These works include installing a new environmental monitoring system and new automated plant monitoring systems, as well as replacing pipework, valves and pumps across the site. The agreement is subject to finalisation, which is expected to happen later this year.
So far, Sizewell B has produced more than 270 terawatt-hours of electricity since 1995, enough to meet the needs of every household in Suffolk and Norfolk for more than 100 years. About 900 people are employed at the plant.
