Slovakia plans tender for new nuclear power plant next year

Bratislava, 20 November (CTK correspondent) – Slovakia plans to launch a tender for a technology supplier for a planned nuclear power plant in the middle of next year. It estimates the construction cost at ten billion euros (253 billion Kč). Economy Minister Denisa Saková told reporters this after today's cabinet meeting. The government approved a document on the preparations for a new nuclear power source with a capacity of around 1200 megawatts. Under a separate cabinet decision and an agreement with the country's largest electricity producer, Slovenské elektrárne (SE), electricity prices for Slovak households will not rise next year.

The government wants to sign a contract with the winner of the tender for the new nuclear power plant at Jaslovské Bohunice, where SE already operates its own nuclear power plant, in spring 2027. Construction work is due to begin five years later, with the new state-owned plant scheduled to enter operation in 2038.

Nuclear power plants account for the largest share of electricity generation in Slovakia. Slovenské elektrárne is currently working to complete the fourth unit of the Mochovce nuclear power plant.

The Czech Republic is preparing to build new nuclear units at Dukovany. The government preferred the bid from South Korea's KHNP to that of France's EDF. It had already excluded another bidder, US company Westinghouse, from the competition. EDF and Westinghouse have now filed appeals against the decision of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, which rejected their objections to the Dukovany nuclear unit tender process in late October.

Minister Saková's comments suggest that one of the three companies mentioned could partner with the Slovak government in building the new nuclear power plant.

According to Saková, the price of electricity itself, excluding associated charges, will not rise for Slovak households next year. Families who faced an electricity price increase of around 60 percent will therefore save about 227 million euros (5.7 billion Kč), according to a document from the Ministry of Economy. The government approved the relevant measure and also agreed to amend an earlier memorandum with SE on the supply of low-cost electricity. Slovenské elektrárne agreed to reduce the originally agreed price by a total of 36 million euros (910 million Kč).

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expects the government will also prevent increases in natural gas and heating prices for Slovak households. The government had originally planned to end universal subsidies and focus on providing targeted assistance to energy consumers. Slovakia began subsidising gas and heating prices for households across the board in 2022, to prevent sharp increases in energy prices on exchanges from being reflected in regulated household prices.