Czech government to invite EDF and KHNP to submit binding bids for multiple units, but not Westinghouse

The government will invite French company EDF and South Korea’s KHNP, which are bidding to build a nuclear unit at Dukovany, to submit binding bids for the construction of up to four new reactors at Dukovany and Temelín. North American company Westinghouse will not continue to the next stage of the tender because its bid failed to meet the requirements. The two bidders will have until 15 April to submit their new bids. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said this at a press conference today after a government meeting. According to him, the bidders’ non-binding offers to date for the construction of multiple reactors are up to 25 percent more favorable than building just one unit. He did not disclose the prices offered. Westinghouse has not commented on the decision so far, while the Czech News Agency (ČTK) is seeking responses from the other two companies.

All three bidders—the US company Westinghouse, South Korea’s KHNP and France’s EDF—submitted their final bids for the construction of a nuclear unit at Dukovany at the end of October. Alongside these, the bidders also submitted non-binding offers for three additional reactors. The bids are being evaluated by ČEZ, which is in charge of the tender.

“The tender process to date shows that ordering several reactors at the same time could secure a price up to one quarter lower per reactor. We have therefore decided to ask the bidders to submit binding bids for the delivery of up to four new nuclear reactors. We will then select a supplier on the basis of these bids and decide whether to have multiple reactors built or not,” Fiala said.

Only EDF and KHNP will be invited, as their bids included the required information needed for evaluation, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN). Westinghouse’s bid, by contrast, failed to meet the prescribed requirements, he said. According to Síkela, the main problem was that it was not binding and therefore could not be compared with the other bids in the evaluation. The government also said that Westinghouse’s bid did not clearly identify the entity responsible for the quality of the project.

The deadline for submitting binding bids has been set for 15 April. ČEZ will then have a month and a half to evaluate the bids and will submit their ranking to the government at the end of May. The government is expected to decide on the next steps after that. The cabinet says the changes to the tender will not affect the expected deadline for bringing the first reactor at Dukovany into operation by the end of 2036.

According to Síkela, the need to build multiple reactors stems from current developments in the domestic energy sector. “In the coming decades, electricity consumption will grow significantly, by as much as two thirds by 2050. Alongside renewable energy sources, nuclear power will enable us to meet this increase in consumption as a reliable low-emissions source,” the minister noted. The non-binding offers showed that it makes sense to consider building multiple reactors, Síkela said. Fiala pointed out that the invitation does not yet mean that all four units will definitely be built.

The government’s strategic energy documents also envisage the construction of multiple units. According to them, two new units could be built at Dukovany and two at Temelín.

The new reactor project is expected to be the largest investment in Czechia’s modern history. According to previous statements by the government and ČEZ, one new reactor is expected to cost about 160 billion Kč in 2020 prices. Government representatives declined to comment on the prices offered today.

Czechia 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 located at Dukovany in the Třebíč region. In addition to new conventional reactors, ČEZ is also preparing to build small modular reactors. The first is expected to be built at Temelín.