The fight by French energy giant Électricité de France (EDF) to invalidate Czechia’s decision to choose a South Korean company to build two reactors at the Dukovany nuclear power plant hit another wall today.
The chairman of the Czech competition protection office dismissed the appeal that EDF put forward last year after the regulator rejected the French company’s first complaint in October.
The dismissal of EDF’s appeal today allows the Czech state energy company ČEZ to conclude the procurement contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).
ČEZ welcomed the decision, stating that its preferred bidder was selected “from the very beginning” in compliance with applicable laws and the initial agreement, a spokesman said.
ČEZ operates two nuclear power plants, Temelín and Dukovany, which together account for 40% of Czechia’s electricity production. ČEZ selected KHNP for the construction of two new nuclear units at Dukovany after a tender process initiated in 2022.
The two units have recently been estimated to cost around 16 billion euros. Construction is expected to begin in 2029 and the deadline for start of the test operations is set for 2036.
EDF can still challenge the contracting authority’s decision in the Regional Court in Brno, the Czech competition regulator said. EDF has asked the European Commission to investigate KHNP’s selection under the EU’s Foreign Subsidy Regulation.
(epd)