Framatome and EDF have extended the maintenance contract for the Sizewell B nuclear power plant until 2040.

Framatome and EDF have renewed the long-term service agreement (LTSA) that covers a comprehensive range of maintenance and refurbishment for the Sizewell B nuclear power plant in Suffolk, England, thereby supporting the plant's long-term operating strategy

Framatome provides maintenance services for Sizewell B since 2008. With this extension of the contract until 2040, it is planned that Framatome will carry out the complete refurbishment activities to meet the current and future challenges of low-carbon electricity production, while maintaining high standards of safety and performance.

A 15-year contract will enable Sizewell B personnel to use Framatome's global expertise in the field of pressurized water reactors (PWR), including servicing of the reactor and steam generators, maintenance of pumps and valves of the primary circuit, non-destructive testing, as well as coordination of the supply chain and management of refurbishment teams.

Sizewell B is the UK's only pressurized-water reactor, with an installed capacity of 1,198 megawatts (older British reactors are AGR and MAGNOX designs – reactors moderated by graphite and cooled by carbon dioxide). It was commissioned in 1995 with an initial operating life of 40 years until 2035. After the British government and operator EDF reached an agreement in July this year to fund the extension of the operating life by an additional 20 years, EDF will finance refurbishment works worth 800 million pounds (1 billion dollars) that will be carried out during planned outages over the next 15 years. These works include the installation of a new environmental monitoring system and automated plant monitoring systems, as well as the replacement of piping, valves and pumps across the site.

Sizewell C is currently under construction on the same site, a EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) design – a pressurized-water reactor – with a capacity of around 1,600 megawatts.

S.A.