Czech regional court: If EDF were to win nuclear tender dispute, it could seek compensation

If French company EDF were to win its dispute with the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) over the Dukovany nuclear tender after a contract had been signed with the winning company, it could seek compensation from the contracting authority. Martina Charvátová, acting spokesperson for the Brno Regional Court, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) in response to a question. The Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) today overturned the interim injunction issued by the regional court that had blocked the signing of the contract, and the contracting authority EDU II signed a contract with the winning company KHNP to build new units at Dukovany.

EDF, whose bid in the tender was unsuccessful, challenged in a lawsuit at the Brno Regional Court the decision of the competition authority, which found that the tender had been conducted properly. This lawsuit was the reason for the interim injunction, overturned today, which had prohibited the contract from being signed.

Under the NSS ruling, the regional court was to reconsider issuing an interim injunction. The signing of the contract has changed the situation, however. “Generally, as a rule, if that were the case (the contract had been signed), there would no longer be any reason to consider the application for an interim injunction,” the court spokesperson said.

The court will hear EDF’s lawsuit itself on June 25. If it ruled that the tender had not been conducted properly and overturned the ÚOHS decision, the French company could seek compensation. “In that case, compensation can be sought under the law,” Charvátová added.

The government decided last July to build two nuclear reactors. It preferred the bid from South Korea’s KHNP over that of France’s EDF. It had already disqualified another bidder, Westinghouse, from the competition. The competition authority rejected EDF’s objections, and its chairman, Petr Mlsna, upheld the decision at the end of April. EDF filed a lawsuit with the regional court. The government planned to sign the final agreement with KHNP on May 7. The day before, the Brno Regional Court blocked the signing with an interim injunction. EDU II and South Korea’s KHNP challenged the injunction at the NSS, which today ruled in their favour. Representatives of the two companies signed the contract just hours after the NSS ruling.

The first unit at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036. The construction of new nuclear units in Czechia is set to be the country’s largest-ever contract. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred plan to build two reactors at Dukovany is 407 billion korunas.