French EDF also asks Czech competition authority to review nuclear tender

French company EDF has also filed a request with the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) to review the tender for the construction of new nuclear units in Czechia. US company Westinghouse had already announced that it had filed an appeal. The companies are protesting the tender process and the selection of South Korea’s KHNP. The ÚOHS announced this today, saying it is currently reviewing both requests. ČTK is seeking comment from EDF.

According to ČEZ, the tender is covered by a security exemption, meaning it is not possible to appeal the course of the proceedings.

“The Office for the Protection of Competition has received requests from US company Westinghouse and French group EDF concerning the contracting authority’s procedure in the tender for the construction of a nuclear unit/units. The Office is currently reviewing the contents of both requests,” ÚOHS spokesman Martin Švanda said.

The office has not yet disclosed the precise contents of the objections from either company. However, US company Westinghouse said on Monday that South Korea’s KHNP is not entitled to use the reactor technology it has offered in Czechia. KHNP disagrees. The two companies have been involved in a long-running dispute over the use of the technology, which is being heard by an international arbitration tribunal. EDF has not yet commented on its request.

According to ČEZ, the contracting authority, the tender is covered by a security exemption that allows the contracting authority under the law to depart from the Public Procurement Act. “The tender is being conducted under a security exemption, so a bidder cannot challenge the course of the tender with the ÚOHS,” ČEZ spokesman Ladislav Kříž told ČTK.

In July, the government decided to build two new nuclear reactors at Dukovany. They are to be built by South Korea’s KHNP, which won the tender after the Czech government preferred it to French company EDF. ČEZ is now negotiating a contract with the South Koreans, which is expected to be signed by the end of March next year. The first of the new reactors at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036. Westinghouse also initially took part in the tender, but the government did not invite it to the next stage of the competition at the beginning of the year. It said the company’s initial US bid did not meet the requirements.