Czech competition authority blocks Dukovany completion contract at EDF and Westinghouse's request

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) has issued interim measures prohibiting the signing of a contract with South Korean company KHNP to build a new nuclear unit at Dukovany. The authority took this step in response to applications from EDF and Westinghouse, which also bid for the contract, Czech Television reported today. Martin Švanda, a spokesperson for the authority, confirmed to the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that the interim measure had been issued. Issuing an interim measure does not prejudge how the ÚOHS will rule on the tender.

„I can confirm that the ÚOHS issued interim measures in recent days in response to applications from EDF and Westinghouse, prohibiting the contracting authority from signing contracts in the tender for the construction of a new nuclear unit. Issuing an interim measure says nothing about how the case will be decided. It is a standard step to safeguard the proceedings when no final decision has yet been made and there could be a risk of frustrating the purpose of the administrative proceedings,“ Švanda said.

If the contract had already been signed, the authority would be unable to intervene effectively if competition rules had been breached and could only impose a fine retrospectively. That is why it issues interim measures in similar cases, postponing the signing of a contract until after a final decision on whether the tender was conducted properly.

The government decided in July to build two new nuclear reactors. Unsuccessful bidders EDF and Westinghouse challenged the tender at the ÚOHS. EDF primarily challenged the decision to select South Korea's KHNP, while Westinghouse challenged the use of a security exemption. „Administrative proceedings have been initiated in both cases, and their duration cannot be predicted given their substantive and procedural complexity. The authority will provide no further information on the progress of these administrative proceedings until first-instance decisions are issued,“ the ÚOHS said earlier. Spokesperson Švanda clarified today that both proceedings concerning the nuclear tender are ongoing.

The partly state-owned energy company ČEZ is now negotiating a contract with the South Koreans, which is expected to be signed by the end of March 2025. The first of the new reactors at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred plan to build two reactors is 400 billion crowns.

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