Míl: Lawsuit-related delay to Czechia's Dukovany project could cost hundreds of millions of crowns

Damages resulting from delays to the construction of new nuclear units at the Dukovany power plant due to a lawsuit by French energy company EDF could reach several hundred million crowns. Jaroslav Míl, a former ČEZ chief executive and former government envoy for nuclear energy, said this today on Czech Television (ČT). He said the amount would depend, among other things, on how long the Regional Court in Brno takes to rule on the lawsuit. Today, at the lawsuit's request, the court issued an interim injunction blocking the signing on Wednesday of the final contract for the construction of the nuclear units between Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), which is owned by ČEZ and the Czech state, and the tender winner, Korea's KHNP.

EDF's lawsuit challenges a decision by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) that found the tender to have been conducted properly. Under today's court ruling, the ban on signing the contract remains in force until the court rules on EDF's lawsuit. ČEZ announced today that, if it is established that EDF's lawsuit was unjustified, it is prepared to seek damages.

Míl told ČT that if the court instead rules in EDF's favour, the nuclear tender will be cancelled and compensation would have to be paid to the participants in the procurement process. However, if the court finds the complaint unfounded, ČEZ is very likely to seek compensation for the delay, Míl said. “I can't say whether it will be in the high hundreds of millions or the lower hundreds of millions of crowns,” Míl said, adding that he did not know the circumstances and conditions of the tender and that the amount would also depend on how long the court proceedings over the lawsuit drag on.