ČEZ: Analysis of bids for a unit at Dukovany in Czechia is taking place under special measures

The evaluation of final bids to build a nuclear unit at Dukovany is taking place under special security measures. For example, teams have been formed for individual sections and will work in specialized rooms. The evaluation is expected to continue until the end of February next year, when the government will receive the final ranking of the bids. Martin Novák, chief financial officer of the energy group ČEZ, told the CTK news agency in an interview today. According to him, the three bids comprise more than 90,000 pages in total.

All three shortlisted bidders submitted final offers to build a nuclear unit at Dukovany at the end of October: North American company Westinghouse, South Korea’s KHNP and France’s EDF. Along with them, the bidders also submitted non-binding offers for three additional reactors. The evaluation will be carried out by ČEZ, which is responsible for the entire tender. The new unit is expected to be completed by 2036.

„A thorough evaluation will now take place under strict security measures in specialized rooms. Teams have been assigned to individual sections and will be responsible for their respective areas. No one will have access to everything,“ Novák said.

He declined to comment on the details of the bids, saying that all three comprise more than 90,000 pages in total.

Under the current schedule, the government is expected to receive the ranking of the evaluated bids by the end of February. It will then have time to conduct its own analysis. A contract with the selected bidder is expected to be signed by the end of next year.

The new Dukovany unit will be built next to the existing power plant and will eventually replace part of its capacity. The first unit at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant began operating in 1985. The new reactor project is expected to be the largest investment in the Czech Republic’s modern history. According to previous statements by the government and ČEZ, the new reactor is to cost about 160 billion Kč in 2020 prices. The exact cost will be known only after the tender is completed.

The Czech Republic currently has six nuclear units at two power plants. Two units, each with a capacity of approximately 1000 megawatts (MW), are at Temelín in South Bohemia. Four smaller units, with a capacity of 510 MW, are at Dukovany in the Třebíč District. In addition to new conventional reactors, ČEZ is also preparing to build small modular reactors. The first is expected to be built at Temelín.

sip rdo