Czech antitrust authority definitively rejects EDF's appeal against Dukovany tender

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) has definitively rejected French company EDF's appeal against the tender to build nuclear units at Dukovany. The authority found that the tender process and the selection of Korea's KHNP were conducted properly. The tender proceedings are now over. ČEZ can therefore sign final construction contracts with the Koreans, with the signing expected in the coming weeks. ÚOHS Chairman Petr Mlsna said this at a press conference today. According to him, EDF can still challenge the Antitrust Office's decision at the Regional Court in Brno.

The government decided last July to build two new nuclear reactors. It preferred KHNP's bid over EDF's. The other bidder – Westinghouse – had already been excluded from the tender.

The Antitrust Office dealt with the contract for several months, after both unsuccessful bidders lodged objections to the selection of their competitor. They questioned the Korean company's right to use the technology it had offered and the transparency of the proceedings. The French company specifically argued that the rules on foreign subsidies had been breached. Both companies also said the contracting authority's actions were unlawful, arguing, among other things, that it had failed to comply with the basic principles of public procurement, particularly in connection with the selection of the preferred supplier.

The ÚOHS rejected the objections, and both companies appealed to the office's chairman, Mlsna. Westinghouse withdrew its comments and appeal this February after reaching an agreement with the Korean company to end their mutual disputes. EDF, by contrast, continued with the proceedings and recently expanded its appeal against the ÚOHS's original decision with further objections, drawing attention to the global settlement agreement between Westinghouse and South Korean companies KEPCO and KHNP. ÚOHS Chairman Mlsna, however, definitively rejected all the objections. The parties involved have already been informed.

Today's decision also lifts the authority's preliminary injunction prohibiting ČEZ from signing a contract with KHNP for Dukovany. The two companies plan to sign the contract in the coming weeks.

The construction of new nuclear units in Czechia is expected to be the largest domestic contract ever. Last year, the government selected Korean company KHNP as its preferred bidder in the tender, and ČEZ is now negotiating a final construction contract with it. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred option of building two reactors at Dukovany is 400 billion crowns. The first unit at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036.