EDF weighs suing over Czech tender at regional court, decision expected soon

French company EDF is considering filing a lawsuit with the Regional Court in Brno over the approval and conduct of the tender for new nuclear units at Dukovany. It wants to decide soon. The company is also calling for a public hearing on the tender in the Czech Parliament. EDF Vice President Vakis Ramany told journalists today. The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) definitively rejected the French company's objections to the tender last week.

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

According to Ramany, the French company is seriously considering filing a lawsuit with the regional court, and a decision should be made very soon. He did not give a specific date, however. The lawsuit would most likely challenge the ÚOHS's recent decision.

Last week, ÚOHS Chairman Petr Mlsna said that any suspensive effect on the further course of the tender would be entirely at the court's discretion. However, according to Mlsna, a possible preliminary injunction barring the signing of a contract again would be conditional on posting a substantial security deposit amounting to one percent of the bid price for the Dukovany project. The court would also have to assess whether the public interest outweighed the company's interest. EDF says the maximum security deposit is ten million crowns. The company said posting it would not be a problem if it filed a lawsuit.

The antitrust authority examined the contract for several months. Both unsuccessful bidders challenged the selection of their competitor, questioning the Korean company's right to use the technology it had offered and the transparency of the process. The French company specifically claimed that regulations on foreign subsidies had been breached. Both companies also said the contracting authority's procedure was unlawful, arguing, among other things, that it had failed to comply with the basic principles of public procurement, particularly in selecting the preferred supplier. ÚOHS rejected the objections, and Mlsna also dismissed the companies' appeals last week.

The ÚOHS decision also lifted the authority's preliminary injunction barring 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 country's largest contract. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred plan to build two reactors at Dukovany is 400 billion crowns. The first Dukovany unit is expected to be completed in 2036.