Westinghouse Electric Company has announced it has booked nearly $500M worth of additional nuclear fuel contracts with eight utility customers in its Americas region within the past year. The contracts encompass the fabrication and delivery of nuclear fuel and associated engineering to 13 nuclear power plants.

All Westinghouse nuclear fuel loaded into U.S. pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) has been operating at a 100-percent leak-free status since May 2014.

Additionally, over the past two years, Westinghouse has maintained an industry-leading leak-free status on average of nearly 98 percent with its robust fuel designs.

"While the scopes of these additional contracts may vary, one point remains clear-our customers continue to express confidence in Westinghouse's reliable, technically superior nuclear fuel," said Jose Emeterio Gutierrez, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel senior vice president.

"This is a notable achievement for Westinghouse. Also, it is a collective performance achievement by our utility customers that have sustained this high performance level by implementing fuel reliability best practices related to foreign material control and plant operations."

Westinghouse provides nuclear fuel to 145 plants globally, 55 of which are in the U.S. These plants are supported by Westinghouse's 10 global nuclear fuel manufacturing locations, including U.S. sites in S. Carolina, Utah and Pennsylvania.

Westinghouse is a single-source global nuclear fuel provider for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), including Russian-designed VVER reactors, as well as BWRs and advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs).

"We are pleased to be able to provide our global customers with leading nuclear fuel products and industry expertise to support their successful efforts toward generating safe, clean, economical and reliable electricity," said Mark Marano, Westinghouse Americas president.

"We believe these additional agreements further demonstrate our commitment to operating plants in the U.S., and we look forward to additional mutually beneficial partnerships in the years to come."