Nuclear tender result imminent? Ministry requests change to key deadline

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked ČEZ to amend the deadline by which the state may exclude a participant from the tender for the completion of up to two units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant and up to two units at the Temelín nuclear power plant. The deadline for excluding a participant has been moved to 26 July this year. Will we learn the winner of the multi-billion contract this month? 

The announcement of the winner of the Dukovany tender apparently draws inexorably closer. In mid-June, ČEZ submitted an evaluation report to the government, based on which it selected the recommended winner of the nuclear tender. Under the contract, the government had one month to assess the evaluation report and potentially exclude one of the bidders from the tender.

However, at the last minute, the Ministry of Industry and Trade requested a change to this deadline. In a letter published in the contracts register, the government requested an extension of the mid-July deadline by just under 14 days, to Friday, 26 July 2024. ČEZ agreed to the change in deadline.

The state secured the right under its contracts with ČEZ to exclude one of the bidders in the Dukovany tender. It has not yet exercised this right, even though Westinghouse is no longer participating in the tender. Westinghouse was not excluded from the tender, but was merely not invited to the expanded tender, i.e. to submit a bid expanded by a binding offer for three additional units at the Dukovany and Temelín plant sites.

Only two bidders therefore remain in the nuclear tender: South Korean company KHNP and France's EDF. The postponement of the deadline until 26 July this year does indeed suggest that we are approaching the final stage. After that, the government will lose the right to exclude any of the tender participants, and ČEZ would therefore likely decide based on the recommended ranking.

If the state were to exclude one of the tender participants, the other bidder would logically win. Thanks to the extension of the deadline for excluding a participant, the government has the opportunity to decide on excluding a bidder at two more government meetings. The first takes place this Wednesday and will decide on several strategic energy documents.

It therefore cannot be ruled out that the winner of the nuclear tender will be announced after Wednesday's government meeting. If this does not happen, the government can still decide on it next Wednesday, 24 July.

If one of the bidders were to be excluded, it would likely be the bidder that ČEZ recommended in first place. It is unclear whether this would be EDF or KHNP.

There is speculation that KHNP's offer is cheaper but also more uncertain. The reason is a dispute over technology rights with US company Westinghouse, which has not yet been resolved and could potentially lead to complications during construction.

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