Report from Czechoslovakia: Nuclear power today and tomorrow

The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic belongs to countries that have relatively high energy consumption. In the past, the majority of the power demand has been covered by domestic coal and hydropower has also contributed a few per cent to power supply. Yet this structure of energy sources can no longer meet the growing power demands of the CSSR economy. Under these circumstances, and taking into consideration expected structural changes in the economy, the future energy supply and demand balance would depend on: Implementation of a broadly-conceived energy-saving programme; Intensified development of nuclear power as the only form of energy that can meet the growing demand for power and increase the share of electrical energy in the structure of energy sources. The short review of today's situation and future plans for nuclear power in the CSSR is given in this paper. Reactor safety, emergency planning and post-Chernobyl environmental monitoring are emphazised