Highlights at TVO in 2008

The thirtieth anniversary of nuclear electricity generation in Olkiluoto was celebrated on 2 September 2008. Today, the two plant units in Olkiluoto produce about one sixth of the total electricity generated in Finland every year.

In 2008, the Olkiluoto power plant generated a total of 14 380 GWh of electricity, which covered ca. 17.0 percent of the Finnish consumption. With a load factor of 93.7%, Olkiluoto 1 (OL1) produced 7 066 GWh. Olkiluoto 2 (OL2) produced 7 314 GWh and boasted a load factor of 96.9%. TVO's share in the Meri-Pori coal power plant brought the total production of the Company to 15 197 GWh.

The net sales of TVO amounted to 245 million EUR in 2008, and the gearing ratio was 33.1%. The balance sheet showed a profit of 9.4 million EUR for 2008, which is contributed to the sale of the shares in Polartest Oy, a company that engages in inspection activities. TVO's deposits in the State Nuclear Waste Management Fund totalled 1 001 million EUR.

The expansion projects of the warehouse and the maintenance workshops, which started in the spring of 2007 as part of the infrastructure development programme in Olkiluoto, reached roof-top height in February 2008. The expansion of the warehouse will be completed in the early part of 2009. The construction of the new outage building started in Olkiluoto in April; the building reached roof-top height in January 2009 and will be completed by the start of the 2009 annual outages.

Site manpower in the Olkiluoto 3 project doubled in 2008. On the turbine island the focus of the works shifted from construction to installations. The turbines, the generator and other major components were installed. The turbine island is expected to be completed during 2009. The nuclear island is still at the construction-intensive phase. The most important components have been or are about to be completed. The reactor pressure vessel was shipped to Olkiluoto at the beginning of 2009.

In January 2009, TVO received from the OL3 turnkey plant supplier (AREVA-Siemens Consortium) an estimate according to which the completion of OL3 will be postponed till June 2012.

TVO submitted on 25 April 2008 to the Council of State an application for a Decision-in-Principle on the construction of a fourth nuclear power plant unit in Olkiluoto (OL4). The statement of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy on the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the OL4 project was obtained in June.

The annual outages were realised according to plans at OL1 and OL2 during 4 May and 3 June 2008.

TVO employed 777 people in 2008 on average. A total of 70 new permanent employees were recruited during the year, and 37 employment relationships ended, 12 of them due to retirement.