OREANDA-NEWS. May 20, 2010. On April 21, the U. S. Department of Commerce (DOC) approved a long-term contract for the joint stock company Techsnabexport (TENEX, an enterprise of Russian State Corporation Rosatom ) to supply low enriched uranium directly to Northern States Power Company, an Xcel Energy subsidiary located in Minnesota. The contract is the eighth concluded between U.S. utilities and TENEX since May 2009.

The Amendment to the Russian Suspension Agreement signed by the state corporation Rosatom and the DOC in February 2008 allowed U.S. utilities to enter into direct contracts with the Russian supplier for securing long-term low enriched uranium supplies on mutually-advantageous terms.