Czech grid operator ČEPS is ready for new reactors if the second connects after the old units are shut down

The Czech transmission grid is ready for two new nuclear units at the Dukovany power plant, provided the second is connected after the existing units are disconnected. Any simultaneous operation of the new and old units would require a connection study, on the basis of which plans for developing the transmission grid would be adjusted. ČEPS, the transmission system operator, said this today in response to a question from the Czech News Agency (ČTK). It said the cost of any investment would depend on the technical solution chosen and could not yet be estimated. On Wednesday, the government decided that South Korea’s KHNP would build two new nuclear reactors at Dukovany.

Four nuclear units are in operation at the Dukovany power plant, each with a capacity of 510 megawatts (MW). Each of the new reactors offered by KHNP is expected to have a capacity of 1050 MW.

„ČEPS has long been preparing investment plans for connecting two new nuclear units at the Dukovany site, on the assumption that the second would be connected after the existing units are shut down,“ ČEPS spokesperson Hana Klímová told the Czech News Agency.

ČEPS carried out its analysis under a connection agreement with Elektrárna Dukovany II, a subsidiary of the partially state-owned energy company ČEZ, which will be the project’s investor.

„A connection study will be carried out for the planned operation of two new nuclear power sources at Dukovany during a brief period of simultaneous operation with the existing units. By law, the project investor must prepare the study. Its findings will then be reflected in plans for developing the transmission system and in the scope of any new investment projects by ČEPS,“ Klímová said.

She said the level of investment would depend on the technical solution and how long the existing nuclear units remain in operation; it cannot yet be quantified.

On Wednesday, the government decided that KHNP would build new nuclear units in Czechia, choosing it over France’s EDF. The cabinet also decided to build two reactors at Dukovany, with the price of each unit expected to reach around 200 billion crowns. Construction is expected to begin in 2029, and the first unit is expected to start generating electricity in 2036. The government will also negotiate with KHNP an option for two more nuclear units at Temelín.